mme anb (Slueene of iSnQlanb 

EDITED BY 

ROBERT S. RAIT M.A. and WILLIAM PAGE F.S.A. 



HENRY VI 



VOLUMES IN THE 


SAME 




SERIES 




HENRY 


II 




By L. F. Salzmann B.A 


., F.S.A. 


HENRY 


VII 




By D. M. 


Gladys Temperley. 


HENRY 


V 




By R. B. 


Mowat. 




OTHERS 


IN PREPARATION 




Photo, Emery Walker 



HENRY VI 

National Portrait Gallery 



HENRY VI 



BY 



MABEL E. CHRISTIE 



ILLUSTRATED 




BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

1922 



^^fi^ 



Printed in Great Britain. 



'i C C I 

2 : 



Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, 
bungay, suffolk. 



CONTENTS 

CHAP. fAQB 

I BiETH AND Accession 1 

II 1423-1437 : Youth and Tutelage of Henky VI 37 

III 1423-1435: The Work of Bedford in France 70 

IV 1437-1450 : Character of Henry VI . . 109 

V 1435-1453 : The Loss of France . . .155 

VI 1450-1453 : Jack Cade's Kebellion and the 

Birth of Prince Edward . . . 190 

VII 1454-1458 : York's Campaign against Somer- 
set AND the King's Second Illness . 235 

VIII 1459-1460 : York's Campaign against Henry's 

Bad Government 273 

IX 1460-1461 : Yorkist Claim to the Crown . 292 

X 1461-1471 : Henry and Margaret in Exile 

AND Death of Henry VI . . . 329 

Itinerary 375 

Appendix to Chapter II ... . 390 

Bibliography 394 

Index 399 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

To fact page 

Portrait of Henry VI . . . . FroiUispiece 
{National Portrail Gallery) 

How King Henry VI was crowned King of 

England at Westminster 52 

How King Henry VI was crowned King of France 

at St. Denis beside Paris .... 56 

John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford . . . 108 

{Add. MSS. 18850,/. 256 h.) 

John Talbot presenting the Book to Margaret 

OF Anjou 118 

How King Henry made Earl Eichard his Lieu- 
tenant OF France and Normandy . . .162 

Portrait of Henry VI 252 

(Royal Collection at Windsor) 

Portrait of Henry VI 358 

{King's College, Camhridge) 

MAPS 

Map of France 168 

Map of England, to illustrate Chapters I to VIII 250 

Ancient St. Albans 256 

Map of England, to illustrate Chapter IX 320 
Map to illustrate the Battle of Towton . . 332 
Map of England to illustrate Chapter X . .336 



vu 



HENRY VI 

CHAPTER I 

BIRTH AND ACCESSION 

On the Feast of St. Nicholas, 6 December, 1421, at 
the royal castle of Windsor, a son was born to King 
Henry V and his wife Katherine of Valois, daughter 
of Charles VI of France. The infant was named 
Henry after his illustrious father, whom he was 
destined to resemble neither in character nor fortune. 

Henry V was besieging the town of Meaux when 
the news of his son's birth reached him, and he re- 
ceived it with " humble rejoicing and devout exulta- 
tion," his joy being shared by the English army when 
the tidings became known. The King immediately 
wrote to Queen Katherine exhorting her, when she 
received his letter, " as soon as she suitably could, to 
hear devoutly a Mass of the Blessed Trinity and 
dedicate the newly born Prince to Almighty God, 
humbly praying that his ways and actions should be 
directed in happy succession to the honour and glory 
of God ; all of which things were fulfilled in their 
entirety by his most devout queen." ^ 

Historians of the following century, probably unduly 
^ Elmham, Vita et Gesta Henrici V, 322. 



2 HENRY VI [1421 

influenced by subsequent events, relate that Henry V 
had particularly expressed a desire that his son should 
not be ushered into the world at Windsor, for some 
reason believing it to be unpropitious, and that he 
was much distressed when he heard that it had been 
so, for " whether he fantaysed some olde blind pro- 
phecie, or else Judged of his sonnes fortune, he sayde 
to the Lorde Fitz Hugh his Chamberleyn these wordes. 
My Lorde, I Henry born at Monmouth shall small 
time reigne and get much : And Henry borne at 
W3nidsore shall long reigne and loose all." ^ The 
authenticity of this tale, however, is far from being 
well established. 

At the little Prince's christening the godfathers 
were Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, half- 
brother of Henry IV, and John, Duke of Bedford, the 
elder of King Henry's brothers. The godmother was 
Jacqueline of Holland, a lady who had recently left 
her husband, the Duke of Brabant, and had taken 
refuge at the English Court, where she was attracting 
the attention of the Duke of Gloucester. She had 
perhaps gained the special friendship of Queen 
Katherine ; otherwise there seems little reason for 
this somewhat odd choice. At the confirmation of 
the infant, which followed closely upon the christening, 
Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury, stood 
godfather. 

Early in 1422 Katherine began to make preparations 
for rejoining her husband in France, and in May, 
^ Hall's Chronicle, p. 108. 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 3 

when the little Henry was five months old, she went 
down to Southampton, and, accompanied by the Duke 
of Bedford and a small body of troops, embarked on 
the 12th of that month. Apparently the infant 
Prince was left at home, for no mention is made of 
him in the documents dealing with the escort and 
supplies for the Queen's journey ; nor in the detailed 
accounts of Katherine's doings in France is there any 
indication of his being presented to his father or his 
grandparents, events which would hardly have been 
passed over in silence. Katherine and Bedford 
landed at Harfleur and proceeded to Rouen, from 
whence the Queen v/ent to meet her parents, the King 
and Queen of France, at Bois de Vincennes. On 
25 May she was joined there by her husband, and 
both monarchs with their queens entered Paris to 
keep Whitsuntide. 

The little Prince Henry, thus abandoned by his 
parents, was not destined to live in peaceful obscurity 
for long. The cares of royalty descended early upon 
the unfortunate infant. His father Henry was already 
in bad health, and worn out, though yet young, by 
illness and hard campaigning, was forced to take to 
his bed in July. He was carried back to the castle 
of Vincennes, where he died on 31 August, 1422, 
leaving France half won and England exposed to the 
perils uf a long minority. 

Henry VI, then within a week of completing his 
ninth month, began his long and troublous reign on 
1 September, for at that time it was not considered 



4 HENRY VI [1422 

that the new King succeeded the moment that his 
predecessor had drawn his last breath.^ 

At the end of October or early in November, the 
funeral cortege of Henry V, accompanied by the 
widowed Katherine and the Duke of Exeter, landed in 
England and proceeded towards London, where on 
7 November " the body of the same worthy Kyng 
Henry the Vth was worshipf ully entered at Westminster 
with all maner off solempnyte as to that was appar- 
teyning." ^ This done, the infant King was doubtless 
restored to his mother. 

Henry V on his death-bed had given instructions as 
to how affairs were to be carried on after his death 
and during the minority of his son. In France, he 
directed, if the Duke of Burgundy advanced any 
claim to the Regency, it would be well that he should 
not be opposed. Otherwise he wished the office to 
be assumed by his elder brother John, Duke of Bedford 
— as indeed it was. 

His younger brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, 
who during the absence of the King in France had 
been acting as warden of the realm at home, was to 
be confirmed in that office.^ This appointment seems 

^ Henry V died on 31 Oojtpber, but his son did not officially begin 
his reign until the following day. See Hist. Collection of a Citizen 
of London (ed. Gairdner), p. 149 ; Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 691 ; 
Chronicon Anglicae de regnis trium regum Lancastrensium (ed. J. A. 
Giles), pt. iv. p. 3. 

" Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 75. 

^ The two French chroniclers, Waurin and Le F^vre, state that 
the Duke of Exeter was named by Henry for the rule of England, 
but this does not seem to have been the case. 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 5 

to point to Henry's absorption in the conquest of 
France, for Gloucester was in many ways an unsuitable 
man to be entrusted with the delicate task of governing 
a somewhat disturbed country during a long minority. 
Bedford would have been the right man for this post, 
as the Council evidently thought, but, since he was 
required in France, England had to take the risk of 
Gloucester's unwise administration. 

The guardianship of his infant son Henry seems to 
have been entrusted to the old Duke of Exeter, Thomas 
Beaufort,! half-brother of Henry IV, and he was to 
be assisted in his duties by Lord Fitz-Hugh and 
Sir Walter Hungerford. 

The three Dukes upon whom the chief conduct of 
affairs thus devolved were of widely differing 
characters. The D«ke of Bedford, one of the finest 
personalities produced by the House of Lancaster, 
was aged thirty-three at the time of his brother 
Henry's death. Possessed of all that monarch's good 
qualities without his brilliance, he was for that very 
reason a more reliable character, and was indeed looked 
up to and respected by all as a thoroughly trustworthy 
and serious statesman. He was possessed of a high 
sense of public duty, and quickly earned the respect 
of the French by the justice and comparative humanity 
of his administration in their land. Being above 
personal rivalries, he was able to act as a wholesome 

^ Waurin and another chronicler say the Earl of Warwick, but 
this may be a confusion with his appointment a few years later : 
Chron. Ang. de regnis trium reg. Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), iv. 3. 



6 HENRY VI [1422 

check upon his wayward brother Gloucester, with 
whom at the same time he maintained excellent terms. 
His diplomatic talents, indeed, caused his personality 
to have a quieting effect upon many disturbers of the 
peace, for during his rare appearances in England it 
usually fell to his lot to bring about a reconciliation 
between various quarrelsome lords. He was endowed, 
in fact, with what the French term "solid " qualities, 
and was, in addition, of blameless private life. That 
he was, however, capable of hardness and even cruelty 
is evidenced by his treatment of Jeanne d'Arc, which 
is, indeed, the one stain on his character. 

His brother Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, on the 
other hand was ambitious and self-seeking. Utterly 
wanting in public spirit or statesmanship, during 
Bedford's lifetime he heedlessly imperilled the all- 
important friendship with Burgundy by his schemes 
of personal aggrandisement, and after his death, 
regardless of the plight of the country and the hopeless 
condition of affairs in France, he so inflamed the war- 
spirit and false pride of the English that he drove 
them into rejecting offers of peace against the better 
judgment of the King's other advisers. At home, 
by his quarrels with his uncle of Winchester, and 
later with the Queen and her ministers, he under- 
mined by dissension the position of the House of 
Lancaster, ruined himself, and hastened the ruin of 
his master. His private life so scandalized the people 
of London that it became at one time the subject 
of an expostulation to Parhament. Yet in spite of 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 7 

all he was very popular, and was even — most un- 
deservedly — called the " good Duke Humphrey." 
He had the outwardly attractive characteristics of 
the fourth and fifth Henries without their greatness. 
He was amiable and affable in manner, rigidly ortho- 
dox, like all his family, and had the reputation of 
being the most cultured man of his age. 

" He dotlie excelle, 
In iindirstonclyng all othir of his age, 
And hath gret ioio with clerkis to commvme; 
And no man is mor expert off language. 
Stable in studie alwei he doth contune. 

Due off Gloucestre men this prince calle, 

And notwithstondyng his staat and dignyte 

His corage never doth appalle 

To studie in bookis off antiquite; 

And of o thynge he hath a syngular price ( ? pride) 

That heretik dar non comen in his sihte." ^ 

He was munificent, as his gifts to his favourite abbey 
of St. Albans witness, and this, with his liberal patron- 
age of literature and art, endeared him to the people. 
Also, it must be remembered that as he took no part 
in the campaigns in France he incurred no odium for 
disasters in the field, which was the unhappy lot of 
many of his contemporaries. Had he possessed some 
ordinary insight into the condition of affairs and the 
precarious state of the monarchy, and had he whole- 
heartedly and unselfishly devoted his efforts to 
establishing a capable administration, he would at 
least have helped the House of Lancaster to survive 
for another generation. 

1 Brit. Mus. Royal MS. 18 D 4. 



8 HENRY VI [1422 

An incident is related of him by the chronicler of 
St. Albans which shows at once his hot temper and 
his concern for the privileges of that abbey. When 
keeping Christmas there with his wife in 1423, he 
found that one of his servants had been put in the 
stocks for hunting rabbits and deer on the abbey 
lands. Not content with that, the Duke picked up 
a mattress-beater and so belaboured the unfortunate 
man with it that his head was broken. ^ 

The old Duke of Exeter, Thomas Beaufort, whom 
Henry V wished to be the guardian of the young King, 
was the youngest of the three Beaufort brothers, sons 
of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford. Exeter 
seems to have been a somewhat headstrong and violent 
man in his youth, but he was now old and doubtless 
sobered, and as he died a few years after the accession 
of the infant Henry VI he can hardly have had much 
influence upon the character of the young monarch. 

His brother, Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester 
and afterwards cardinal, was a far more important 
personage. Ambitious, energetic and thoroughly 
capable, he was one of those great clerical statesmen 
who arose in an age when education was still chiefly 
in the hands of the Church. A man whose influence 
was felt throughout Europe, and who was by far the 
richest man in England, he was possessed also of an 
arrogance and imperiousness which led him more 
than once into collision with his contemporaries, and 
particularly with his nephew Gloucester, whom he 

1 Annates Monast. St. Albani, auctore ignoto (Rolls Ser.), V, i. 4. 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 9 

cordially detested. For this reason the wisdom of 
Henry V in recommending that the Regency of England 
should be conferred on Gloucester may again be called 
in question, for, considering the characteristics of both, 
no one could reasonably have been sanguine about 
their working together in harmony, and Winchester 
was of far too great importance to be ignored. It seems 
strange that Henry should have overlooked him.^ 

The Bishop did not scorn to increase his riches by 
trade, and had the name of being the greatest wool- 
dealer in the realm. But whether he acquired his 
great wealth by fair means or foul, he at least used it 
in a disinterested manner for the good of the country. 
It was naturally to the interest of the Beauforts to 
support the Lancastrian dynasty, and Winchester 
did it handsomely. He was ever ready to supply the 
King with funds at any time of financial crisis, whether 
for private or public use, and there seems to have been 
considerable affection between him and the young 
Henry VI as he grew up. 

These three were the chief men at the head of 
affairs in 1422. 

The Privy Council met on 30 September and issued 
writs for a Parliament to be summoned on 9 November. 
Trouble began a few days before the latter date. 
The Lords did not look upon Gloucester with favour, 
and, knowing his ambition, realized that it was neces- 

^ Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), pt. iv. 3, 
Btates that he was recommended with Warwick for the care of the 
young King. 



10 HENRY VI [1422 

sary to put some check upon him. The Beauforts, 
meanwhile, had had time to organize their opposition. 
Accordingly, on 5 November, Gloucester was author- 
ized by the Council to open and dissolve Parliament 
only " by assent of the Council," and not in his own 
right as Warden of the Realm. The Duke strongly 
objected to this insertion, protesting that the words 
were unusual and likely to prove prejudicial to his 
rank. In spite of his protest, however, the Lords 
replied that " considering the King's age, they could 
not, ought not, and would not otherwise consent, but 
that these words, or others having similar import, 
should be inserted for the security of the aforesaid 
Duke, and of themselves in time to come," ^ and to 
that Gloucester had to submit. 

When Parliament opened on 9 November, two days 
after the funeral obsequies of Henry V were com- 
pleted, the Duke got still less satisfaction. He ad- 
vanced a claim to the Regency of the Kingdom on 
the grounds of the will of Henry V, but he was given 
to understand that it was beyond the power of any 
monarch to dispose of the government of the kingdom 
after his death. The atmosphere of mistrust was 
indeed so strong that the Parliament finally decided 
to make the Duke of Bedford " Protector of the realm 
and Church of England and the King's chief counsellor," 
while Gloucester was to exercise these functions only 
during Bedford's absence. This was an arrangement 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, Chron. Catalogue 
il. and Acts, p. 6. 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 11 

recommended by Henry V in the will he made before 
finally leaving England. As Bedford during the rest 
of his lifetime paid only one visit of any length to 
England, Gloucester obtained the office in practice, 
but together with a severe snub, and the knowledge 
that his excellent brother could at any time be called 
in to check him. He was allowed to make appoint- 
ments to many small offices, but was obliged to ask the 
advice of the Council with regard to the more important. 

A Regency Council of seventeen members was then 
nominated. It comprised the Duke of Gloucester, 
the Archbishop of Canterbury (Henry Chicheley, who 
is described as " a very discreet man and mild in all 
correction " i), the Bishops of Winchester, London, 
Norwich, and Worcester, the Duke of Exeter, the 
Earls of March, Warwick, Northumberland, and 
Westmoreland, Avith the Earl Marshal, Lords Cromwell, 
and Fitz-Hugh, Sir Walter Hungerford, Sir John 
Tiptoft, and Sir Walter Beauchamp.^ 

The Earl of March, thus selected, was that Edmund 
Mortimer whose grandfather, Edmund Mortimer, Earl 
of March, had married Philippa, the only daughter 
and heiress of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, second son of 
Edward III. He might therefore have claimed the 
throne as the descendant of an elder son of the latter 
monarch than John of Gaunt. He was, perhaps because 
of this danger, placed upon the Council in order to 

^ Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), pt. 
iv. 32. 

* Bolls of Parliament, iv. 175. 



12 HENRY VI [1422 

be under observation, but it was left to his nephew 
and heir to advance the claim. 

Richard Beauchamp, " gracious Warwick," was 
a seasoned warrior and a man of considerable influ- 
ence. He was looked upon as a model of the knightly- 
virtues of the age, but there seems to have been a 
stern and harsh quality in him which had an un- 
fortunate influence upon the young King whose tutor 
he was afterwards to become. He was, however, 
upright in character and extremely conscientious in 
the performance of his duties. He and Archbishop 
Chicheley were Beaufort partisans. 

The Earl of Northumberland was Henry Percy, son 
of that " Hotspur " who with his father had rebelled 
against Henry IV. This Earl was restored to his 
honours by Henry V, and remained the faithful 
adherent of Henry VI until he was killed at the first 
battle of St. Albans in 1455. 

The Earl of Westmoreland, Ralph NeviUe of Raby, 
represented the great Northern rivals of the Peroies. 
He was the father of twenty-three children, and the 
ancestor of the great Neville family which was so 
deeply involved in the troubles of the coming reign, 
and of which we shall hear much later. This Earl, 
however, died in 1425. 

The Earl Marshal, John Mowbray, who was also 
Earl of Nottingham, became Duke of Norfolk in 1424, 
and was a son-in-law of Ralph of Westmoreland. 

Lord Fitz-Hugh had been Chamberlain to Henry V, 
who had specially desired that he, with Sir Walter 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 13 

Hungerford, a renowned soldier, should be about the 
person of the young King. Sir John Tiptoft had 
held the offices of Seneschal of Aquitaine and President 
of the Exchequer in Normandy. Sir Walter Beau- 
champ, who was a relative of the old Earl of Warwick, 
had fought at Agincourt, and had also been Speaker 
of the House of Commons. 

The guardianship of the young King was now 
committed by Parliament to the Duke of Exeter, 
as Henry V had desired. His duties, however, were 
not likely to be onerous until his charge grew a little 
older. 

The situation which the little King's ministers had 
to face was not a cheering one. 

The position of the Lancastrian dynasty in England 
was none too secure, although the successful wars 
of Henry V had made him popular with the nation 
and had raised the prestige of England in the eyes of 
Europe. It will be remembered that Henry IV, 
grandfather of Henry VI, had forced his cousin 
Richard II to abdicate his throne on account of his 
misrule, and is usually supposed to have caused the 
unfortunate monarch to be made away with in the 
following year. In this usurpation he had been 
supported by a nation exasperated by Richard's 
misgovernment, and he had declared his right to the 
crown vaguely as the descendant of Henry III, and 
as the male heir of Richard, but his monarchical 
position was really based on the elective power of 
the nation, for the Salic Law was not held in England. 



14 HENRY VI [1422 

He was the next male heir, for he was the eldest son 
of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, third son of 
Edward III. The second son, Lionel, Duke of 
Clarence, had had an only daughter, Philippa, wife 
of Edmund Mortimer, who, however, never seems to 
have thought of claiming the crown. It was reserved 
for her descendant to bring a retribution upon Henry 
IV's grandson, upon whose innocent head, strangely 
enough, fell a fate almost exactly similar to that of 
Richard II without his personally deserving it. 

The Lancastrian dynasty was therefore in the some- 
what precarious position of an elected monarchy, and 
Parliament, having asserted the right of the nation 
to choose, or at least to ratify the choice of a monarch, 
naturally had to be treated with respect and allowed 
the free exercise of its powers and liberties. It was 
not, however, at this time at all an assertive body, 
and the King did not desire to come into conflict with 
its wishes in any violent way, choosing rather to evade 
its provisions, as far as was lawful, when they were 
distasteful to him. The House of Commons was 
a prejudiced body, composed exclusively of landowners 
and men of some standing in each county, and, owing 
to the ease with which the elections could be influ- 
enced by territorial partisanship, was unfitted to 
act as an impartial tribunal for settUng the affairs 
of the nation. The Lancastrians wished to rule as 
constitutional monarchs guided by Parliament, but, 
in view of the result, it is not surprising that some 
writers on the subject consider that power had been 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 15 

taken from the monarchy and bestowed upon Parha- 
ment before the country was fit for that amount of 
self-government. Owing to the weakness of ParUa- 
ment the chief power fell into the hands of the nobles, 
with disastrous results when they came to be divided 
among themselves. The Council, which was composed 
of them, had the approval of Parliament during the 
minority, and worked in harmony with it throughout 
the early years of the reign. At no time did Henry VI 
attempt to raise money without consent of Parliament, 
or commit any similar actions calculated to arouse 
a spirit of opposition, so that at one time three years 
passed without its being summoned and without any 
outcry being raised. 

The country was in a restless and unsatisfactory 
condition. The war with France had already con- 
tinued for seventy years, so that the prosperity usually 
attendant on a time of peace was far to seek. Manj^ 
of the Lords and country gentry were away in France, 
and their estates in the meantime were neglected, or 
fell an easy prey to the depredations of covetous 
neighbours. The demoralizing influence of long war- 
fare had caused the decay of authority, and order was 
not kept in the land. It also gave rise to a callousness 
towards bloodshed, and, by fostering a love of fighting, 
paved the way for the slaughter in the civil war which 
was to follow. 

In order fully to understand the state of the country 
we must go back some eighty years. England 
was in fact still suffering from the effects of that 



16 HENRY VI [1350 

terrible visitation of 1348-9 known as the Black 
Death. Opinions vary as to the proportion of the 
population which was swept away by this scourge, 
but it seems probable that at least a third of the 
people perished, and in some districts as much as one- 
half. Such an appalling visitation could not fail to 
touch deeply the social conditions of the time. The 
country was more heavily affected than the towns, 
for there, up to this time, the manorial system had 
been the principal factor. In the manor the villeins 
tilled their strips of the common field, and were also 
bound to do so many days' work on the demesne land 
of the lord and render him various other services 
unless they had been commuted for a money payment. 
If, then, a third or a half of the able-bodied men of the 
village were removed — for the plague attacked chiefly 
the young and strong — it followed that there were not 
enough men to till the village lands, and also that 
the lord had a difficulty in exacting enough labour 
to get his demesne lands tilled. The result of such 
a scarcity of labour was naturally a demand for high 
wages, and thus the interests of the landlord and the 
labourers were brought seriously into conflict. The 
lord of the manor wished to retain payment in service, 
while it was to the interest of the villeins to free them- 
selves so that they might be able to ask good wages. 
At harvest-time, when the greatest demand for 
labour occurred, wages rose enormously. Men began 
to forsake their villages and wander about in search of 
higher pay. Vagabondage increased. Thus the agri- 



1351] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 17 

cultural system was entirely dislocated, and landlords 
who were obliged to employ this expensive labour 
were much impoverished and threatened with ruin. 
The necessities of the landowners gave rise to a good 
deal of oppression, which in turn aroused discontent 
and restlessness among the villeins. The lords of 
the manors tried to enforce their manorial services 
upon the villeins, and were, indeed, in a strong position 
for the purpose, for the machinery of the Manorial 
Courts was under their control, and their legal position 
was secure, the aim of mediaeval legislation being to 
support the landowners in the maintenance of their 
authority. Their interests were naturally well guarded 
by a Parliament which was largely composed of 
Knights of the Shires, themselves landowners. 

The outcome of these troubles was the Statute of 
Labourers of 1351. This enacted that men were to 
accept work at the old rate of wages usual before the 
Black Death — a provision which applied to crafts as 
well as to agriculture. It also restrained the rise in 
prices and prohibited the sale of food at a rate of 
" excessive gain." This Statute, however, was not 
a mere measure in support of the landowners ; it was 
the general opinion of the times that the claiming of 
excessive wages or the demanding of exceptionally 
high prices because of a national calamity was an unfair 
extortion. But in spite of this Act prices continued 
to rise, and the tendency was encouraged by the influx 
of money from the French War and the lightening of 
the coinage at home. The penalties of the Act were, 



18 HENRY VI [1380 

however, long enforced with considerable oppression, 
as will appear at the time of Jack Cade's Rebellion. 

The immediate result of the unhappy state of the 
people was the Peasants' Revolt of 1380, from which 
little or no improvement resulted. The violence of the 
insurgents turned public feeling against them, and 
Richard II, misled by his counsellors, evaded his 
promises to the peasant leaders under pressure of 
danger. Efforts were made by legislation to check the 
efiflux from agriculture. The landlords, on their part, 
hit upon two expedients for dealing with the land which 
it cost them so much to cultivate in the old way. The 
first of these was to let out portions of their domains 
on the " stock and lease " system, which, though not 
unknown before, was now much developed. The 
second was to enclose their lands to form large sheep 
farms — a matter about which there was later much 
complaint. The latter method was doubly profitable 
to the landlord, because he required fewer liired men 
to herd the sheep than to cultivate the land, and also 
wool was more than ever in demand for the flourishing 
cloth industry of the country. The abuses of enclosure 
for sheep farming did not become serious until the 
end of the fifteenth century, but it is necessary for 
our purpose to show in what direction matters were 
tending. 

The effect of the Black Death on the towns was 
chiefly indirect. The mortality was doubtless as 
great as in the country, but the disorganization was 
not the same, although, owing to the very primitive 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 19 

condition of sanitation among a dense population, 
the disease lingered in the towns much longer. There 
were outbreaks in London from time to time through- 
out the reign of Henry VI, and especially in 1438 and 
1449, though by that time it was losing much of its 
former virulence. The principal manner in which 
the towns were affected was by the influx of the 
population from the country in the hope of obtaining 
employment at a craft. There, however, the country- 
men were met by a fresh barrier, for the Craft Gilds 
did not welcome them. They were fast becoming 
proud and exclusive bodies, ruled by the rich master 
craftsmen, and were unwilling to admit new and poor 
members to their company. 

The most flourishing of industries was one outside 
the Gilds and unhampered by their regulations. This 
was the cloth trade, for which England was especially 
famous. So prosperous and well developed was it 
that in 1422 the Hansards are said to have exported 
from England 4464 different kinds of cloth. 

Foreign trade up to this time had been chiefly 
in the hands of the Hansards and the Merchants of the 
Staple, but both of these great companies were now 
beginning to decline, the latter because of the decreasing 
export of wool, and the former from causes affecting 
their prosperity at home. Their place was about to 
be taken by the new Merchant Companies, of which 
more will be heard later. 

Lastly, the roads were in a deplorable condition. 
This, no doubt, was largely owing to the decay of 



20 HENRY VI [1422 

the manorial system, for the lord of the manor had 
been responsible for the upkeep of the roads within 
his domains and the Manorial Courts had kept the 
matter under their supervision. Such was their state 
at this time that quite a number of deaths are 
recorded from persons being flung out of carts owing 
to sudden irregularities of the ground. ^ In con- 
sequence of these drawbacks wheeled vehicles were 
seldom used, transport and journeying being for 
the most part accomplished on horseback. Water- 
ways gained an increased importance, for they were 
used wherever possible in order to avoid the abomin- 
able roads. In addition to their other disadvantages 
the roads were infested by vagabonds, disbanded 
soldiers and bandits, which discouraged the timid 
and those bearing valuables from much journeying. 
This difficulty of communication had a bad effect 
upon internal trade, and the fairs, which in those 
days were such an important and lucrative institu- 
tion, declined much in prosperity. 

England, then, at the beginning of the reign of 
Henry VI was at a difficult and uneasy stage of her 
history, and was to sink into a worse condition yet 
before rising again to prosperity. 

The position with regard to France was hardly 
better. Henry V, by an unwise impulse, had revived 
the ancient claim of England to the throne of France, 
declaring himself to be the rightful monarch of that 
country as the male heir of his great-grandfather 
^ Abram, Social England in the Fifteenth Century, 14. 



1327-1413] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 21 

Edward III. The claim of Edward III to the French 
crown had not been very plausible. The three brothers 
of his mother Isabella had in turn ascended the throne 
and had all died without male issue, the third, 
Charles IV, who died in 1328, leaving two daughters. 
As the Salic Law was recognized in France, the crown 
passed to the nearest male heir, Philip of Valois, 
first cousin of the three brothers. 

Philip III 

\ 

Philip IV Charles of Valois 



Louis X Philip V Charles IV Isabella Philip VI d. 1350 
I I d. 1328 = Edward II I 

I I I of England | 

Joan Joan 2 daughters | John 

Edward III -^ 

Edward III chose to ignore the Salic Law, and, over- 
looking the daughters of the former three Kings, claimed 
the crown by right of his mother Isabella. After 
some years of warfare, however, he gave up his claim 
at the Peace of Bretigny. Henry V evidently did not 
consider this treaty binding, but the absurdity of his 
claim lay in the fact that he asserted his right to the 
French throne as the male heir of Edward III. Now 
Edward had set aside the Salic Law and claimed 
through a woman, therefore in order to be consistent 
his rights, such as they were, must descend to Edmund 
Mortimer, Earl of March, who was the direct heir of 
Edward III through his grandmother Philippa. This 



22 HENRY VI [1415-U22 

inconvenient fact seems to have escaped Henry's 
attention. 

But whatever his views on the subject of the 
succession may have been, Henry V should have 
known better than to involve England in a long and 
useless war. At her strongest, England could hardly 
hope to conquer France, much less to hold it when 
won, and, as we have seen, the country was not in 
a prosperous condition. True, Henry V had been 
marvellously successful, and, as far as treaties could 
do it, had secured the crown of France for the heirs 
of himself and his Queen Katherine of Valois by the 
Treaty of Troyes. He had obtained for himself at 
home lustre and popularity, and he even declared 
fervently on his death -bed that he believed his claim 
to the French crown to be righteous, and that he had 
not pursued the war from ambition or love of glory. 
But even so it is difficult to imagine that he could 
really have dreamt of governing successfully a foreign 
realm in addition to his own. He left his son an 
impossible task, all the more impossible because of 
his own success ; for the English arms had gone so 
far that they could not draw back without injury to 
national pride, and it would have been felt a dis- 
grace to claim less than Henry V had claimed and 
half won. 

It was necessary for the completion of Henry's 
task to have a strong and capable head and a powerful 
and well-organized army. The first requirement was 
fulfilled by the Duke of Bedford. The eldest brother 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 23 

of Henry V was, as mentioned above, a most able man, 
almost equal to the King in generalship, and in some 
ways superior to him in character. He was more 
generous and less haughty, and was consequently 
more popular with the French ; he was, indeed, be- 
loved by the Burgundians and the Normans, and also 
by the French nobility who had espoused the English 
cause, but whose affection Henry had never won. 
During Bedford's lifetime the English arms did not 
lose ground, and up to 1428 even ejffected a steady 
advance, while the administration of affairs was 
conducted with order and ability. Better success 
would have attended his efforts had his army been 
more efficient, but it was an ill-organized mass of small 
groups. It was customary in England for each lord 
or captain to bring his own retinue, swelled by as many 
recruits as he could collect, which band he commanded 
himself and took his orders only from the King's 
Lieutenant or his representative. The army was 
composed chiefly of English, with a sprinkling of 
French and Burgundians. It was distributed over 
the country in garrisons, which were drawn upon 
when an army of aggression was required, small 
bodies remaining in charge. The famous English 
archers were still an important part of the troops, 
but the new artillery, which was to make such a 
change in warfare, was already being introduced and 
was used side by side with the bowmen. The pay 
of the soldiers was high, and under Bedford's adminis- 
tration fairly regular, although the exchequer was 



24 HENRY VI [1422 

drained by the long war. As the reign of Henry VI 
went on it grew more and more difficult to obtain the 
necessary funds. At one time Bedford offered his 
Norman revenues for the purpose, and Henry was 
reduced to pledging his jewels and plate and borrowing 
from any one who was rich enough to supply him. 
But his difficulty in raising funds hampered Bedford 
and gave rise to discontent among his men. 

The element which turned the scale of success in 
either direction between France and England was the 
friendship of the Duke of Burgundy. This Duke held 
large dominions along the eastern frontiers of France, 
and also numbered among his possessions Flanders, 
a country of immense importance to English trade. 
Jean sans Peur, father of the Duke, who was in 
possession at the accession of Henry VI, had allied 
himself with the French in 1419, but it was believed by 
the followers of the Dauphin that he still had a secret 
understanding with the English. On 10 September 
of the same year the Duke Jean was treacherously 
murdered in the presence of the Dauphin on the bridge 
of Montereau. His son Philip, therefore, was favour- 
able to the English cause from motives of vengeance. 
His support, however, was not very whole-hearted, and 
it was chiefly owing to the efforts of Bedford that the 
alliance lasted as long as it did. 

The domains held by the English in France in the 
year 1422 comprised Normandy, Ile-de-France, a 
great part of Picardy and Champagne, and in the south- 
east Bordelais, Bazadais and Landes. In the north, 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 26 

however, the EngUsh rule really extended only over 
Normandy, Paris, the west of Ile-de-France, and 
Alen9on, the rest being administered by Burgundian 
officials. The Duke of Burgundy, then an English 
ally, held in the east Burgundy, Artois, and Flanders, 

France was in a terrible condition, and was overrun 
with brigands and vagrants of all sorts. The distress 
was fearful ; agriculture was ruined by the incessant 
warfare ; famine was threatened and trade dislocated. 
The people in the country starved or were driven 
away; the towns were full of ruined houses. In Paris, 
even the religious institutions and hospitals were 
ruined. Normandy was so poor that it was obliged 
to obtain corn from England. To add to its miseries, 
the whole country was infested by wolves, and every- 
where there was desolation, depopulation and disorder. 

Bedford's rule was capable, but it could not cope 
effectually with the state of affairs. He abandoned 
the practice of planting English colonies in Normandy, 
which had been the unpopular policy of Henry V. 
All individuals down to cowherds and swineherds 
were required to take an oath of allegiance to the 
English, and those m4io refused were deprived of their 
goods and evicted, while the Frenchmen of position 
who supported him were richly rewarded. The revenue 
to be gained from the French lands was not great, 
for however much might be voted by a subservient 
assembly it was almost impossible to wring taxes from 
the ruined people. Bedford, however, got leave from 
the Pope to impose taxes of a tenth on the clergy. 



26 HENRY VI [1422 

He kept his provinces under a strict police surveillance, 
but his principle was to interfere as little as possible 
with local customs and institutions, and where he 
could to give civil posts to Frenchmen. He also 
reformed the Court of Justice at Paris and struck a 
good coinage. The policy of the English was thus 
to conquer France by means of French help and 
money, but they were not strong enough even with 
that, and did not succeed in keeping order in the 
dominions they had won. 

The dying Henry V himself felt that his brothers 
would probably be unequal to the task, and while 
charging them to make no peace with Charles, added 
with foreboding that they should at least consent to 
no peace that did not preserve Normandy to the 
English. Thus England was forced to continue an 
unjust and hopeless war, which was in itself a fearful 
handicap to the country's prosperity by its continual 
draining of her energies and resources. One thing, 
however, Henry V had done. He had so raised the 
military prestige of England among European nations 
that even when she had lost France and was distracted 
with civil war no other country attempted to take 
advantage of her distress, and France, except for a few 
trifling raids, did not venture to avenge herself by 
carrying the war into the enemy's country. 

Barely two months after the accession of Henry VI 
the situation in France underwent an alteration. On 
21 October, 1422, the old half -insane King of France, 
Charles VI, grandfather of the little King of England, 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 27 

died in Paris, poor and neglected. On 5 November 
he was carried to his grave at St. Denis with Httle 
pomp, the Duke of Bedford, who had remained in 
France since the death of Henry V, attending as chief 
mourner in the absence of any French princes. Among 
the people of Paris the old King was much lamented, 
and the action of Bedford in causing the King's sword 
to be carried before him in the funeral procession as 
Regent caused considerable murmuring. According 
to the provisions of the Treaty of Troyes the young 
Henry VI now succeeded his maternal grandfather 
as Henry II of France, and was so proclaimed by the 
herald over the grave of Charles. The French nation 
probably received an unpleasant shock. The treaty 
had been made several years before, but it only now 
came into effect and forced itself upon the attention 
of the people in a manner which they could not well 
ignore. 

The Dauphin Charles, whom his father had thus dis- 
inherited, was a feeble and retiring young man of nine- 
teen, ruled by favourites who wasted his substance and 
encouraged his inactivity. He was, however, crowned 
at Poitiers as Charles VII, and was generally acknow- 
ledged south of the Loire to the borders of Guienne. 
Moreover, many of the French nobles who had supported 
Henry V out of deference to the wishes of Charles VI, 
now allowed their patriotism to assert itself and joined 
the Dauphin, who was scornfully nicknamed by the 
English the " King of Bourges," after the town where 
he kept his Court. The death of Charles VI therefore 



28 HENRY VI [1422 

was, on the whole, distinctly disadvantageous to the 
English. 

Early in 1423 Bedford took the precaution of pro- 
claiming again the Treaty of Troyes, and exacted oaths 
of allegiance to Henry. The people of Paris, we are 
told, took the oath, some " with good heart," but some 
with great unwillingness,^ 

Scotland was another cause of difficulty, both because 
of her propensity for raids over the border, and 
chiefly on account of her partiality for the French, 
to whom she lost no opportunity of sending help. 
Henry V detested the Scottish nation : "A cursed 
people the Scots," he is reported to have said ; " wher- 
ever I go I find them in my beard." The English in 
general seem to have had but a poor opinion of them : 
" An ape although she be clothed in purple will be 
but an ape, and a Scot never so gently entertained of 
an English prince will be but a dissimulating Scot," 
says the impolite Hall.^ After the severe defeat of 
the Scots at Homildon Hill in 1402 the border raids, 
which until that date had been so prevalent, ceased 
for some years. 

In 1406 a strange situation had arisen. In that 
year Prince James, the only surviving son of the old 
King Robert III, while journeying to France for 
his education, was captured off Flamborough Head 
by an English corsair. It is uncertain whether 
there was a truce with Scotland at the time, but 

^ Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris (ed. A. Tuetey). 
^ Hall's Chronicle, p. 119. 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 29 

Henry IV could not resist the temptation to keep 
possession of so valuable a person. This iniquity 
proved too much for the poor old King Robert, and 
he died on 4 April, 1406, thus leaving his captive son, 
aged barely twelve years. King of Scotland as James I. 
The unfortunate young King was still a captive when 
Henry VI ascended the throne, and English chroniclers 
are careful to point out that he thus gained a more 
peaceful youth and a sounder education than he would 
have obtained in his own country. Possibly that was 
the case, but although he was far from being ill- 
treated, he certainly did not feel that all the advantages 
he thus obtained, compensated for the loss of his 
liberty. 

The Regency was assumed by the Duke of Albany, 
King Robert's brother, who does not seem to have 
been particularly anxious to obtain the ransom of 
his nephew. As his rule connived at the misdoings 
of the nobility, the country fell into a state of disorder 
which bade fair to give King James a good deal of 
trouble whenever he should return to his kingdom. 
Border raids also began to be the custom once more. 
Albany died in 1420, and was succeeded by his son 
Murdoch, who was still less successful than his father 
in establishing order. 

In this same year, as the result of a French embassy, 
Scottish help was sent to France. The French, 
although they disliked the Scots and disrespectfully 
called them " tugmuttons " and " winebags," never- 
theless found them extremely useful when it came to 



30 HENRY VI [1422 

actual fighting, and to their help was due the defeat 
and death of Henry V's brother Clarence at Bauge 
in 1421. Clarence himself is said to have been slain 
by the Earl of Buchan, and the English army suffered 
heavy loss. In 1422, consequently, Buchan was made 
Constable of France, and Stewart of Darnley at the 
same time became Constable of the Scots in France. 
The Earl of Douglas was also with them, and the con- 
tingent of Scots remained to harry the English in 
France for some years. 

Before proceeding with the reign of Henry VI it 
will be worth while to glance at the general position 
of affairs in Europe. 

The Emperor at this time was Sigismund. A 
member of the House of Luxemburg, he had been 
elected King of the Romans in 1411, but was not 
actually crowned at Rome until 1433. There had been 
a schism at his election which did not tend to increase 
the stability of his position. The electors had been 
divided in their support between Sigismund, his 
cousin Jobst of Moravia, and Wenzel, King of Bohemia. 
Jobst, however, opportunely died, and Sigismund 
contrived to pacify Wenzel. He was not, however, 
crowned until after the latter's death. Sigismund 
had made his reputation in Hungary, on the borders 
of which he had reduced Bosnia, Servia, and the 
greater part of Dalmatia, and had thus established 
a barrier against the Turk. But he also gained an 
unenviable notoriety at the Council of Constance by 
permitting the barefaced violation of the safe conduct 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 31 

of John Hus, and his subsequent cruel death. In 1419 
he became King of Bohemia by Wenzel's death, but 
the Bohemians, holding him responsible for the death 
of Hus, would have nothing to do with him. In 1422, 
therefore, he was engaged in a crusade against the 
Hussites in his new kingdom, an undertaking in which 
he was entirely unsuccessful owing to the skilful 
opposition of Ziska, the Hussite general. 

Germany, as usual, was in a state of confusion 
consequent on an outworn military and political 
system. The Princes of Germany were prevented 
from binding themselves together under their natural 
head, the Emperor, by their general distrust of Sigis- 
mund. In 1422 it was proposed at the Diet of Niirnberg 
to raise a mercenary army in place of the inefficient 
feudal levies, and to pay for it by a tax of the hundredth 
penny. The project, however, was defeated by the 
opposition of the towns. Moreover, the electors were 
on the verge of openly opposing Sigismund and were 
only deterred from it by the dangerous strength of the 
Hussites, against whom he protected them. The last 
of the Ascanian Electors of Saxony, Albert III, died 
in 1422, leaving an only daughter, who was married to 
the son of the HohenzoUern Elector of Brandenburg. 
Sigismund, however, passed over this claim and 
appointed to the Electorship of Saxony Frederick of 
Meissen, the founder of the present Wettin line, and 
thereby earned the enmity of his former supporter, 
Frederick of Brandenburg. 

The Papacy also had had its difficulties. The 



32 HENRY VI [1422 

Great Schism had been ended in 1417 by the election 
of Martin V, the Italian Cardinal Oddo Colonna, but 
his rival, the deposed Benedict XIII, who was a 
Spaniard named Peter de Luna, continued to hold out 
in the fortress of Peniscola, and was occasionally 
resorted to by persons who could not persuade 
Martin V to do as they wished. The recognized Pope, 
however, had returned to Rome, and moulded the 
policy of the whole of the fifteenth century by his 
decision to live there and recover and consolidate the 
Papal States. It was, moreover, an era of Church 
Councils, a series of which had been inaugurated at 
the Council of Constance. Martin V disliked them as 
tending to decrease his power, but he was obliged to 
submit. 

The Hussite movement in Bohemia which gave 
both Emperor and Pope so much trouble, besides being 
a religious movement, was also part of the widespread 
Slav reaction against the Germans which had begun 
in the last century, and it was only intensified in feeling 
by the burning of Hus in 1415. In 1420 the Hussites 
had put forward the " Four Articles of Prague," by 
which they demanded : (i) complete liberty of preach- 
ing ; (ii) communion in both kinds ; (iii) the exclusion 
of priests from temporal affairs and the holding of 
property; and (iv) the subjection of the clergy to 
secular penalties for crimes and misdemeanours. 
In that same year Sigismund returned from a campaign 
against the Turks and claimed the kingdom, an action 
which resulted in seventeen years of warfare. After 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCESSION 33 

Sigismund's third defeat in 1422 they were left in 
peace for five years. Indeed, so complete was their 
success under the able leadership of Ziska that the 
orthodox chroniclers of the time were obliged to excuse 
it by explaining that the good Germans were inspired 
with such a loathing for heretics that they could not 
bring themselves to touch or strike them, or even to 
look them in the face ! A Uttle later the English 
Cardinal Beaufort, when newly raised to that dignity, 
took an active part in these wars. 

Scandinavia at this time was a united whole, the three 
nations of Norway, Sweden and Denmark having been 
joined under one ruler by the Union of Kalmar in 
1397. The monarch of Scandinavia in 1422 was 
Eric of Pomerania, but the union of his dominions 
was by no means secure owing to the fact that the 
three nations were not bound together by any particular 
feeling of affection, and they were soon destined to 
be once more separated. As long as it lasted, however, 
the union seriously threatened the prosperity of their 
rival the Hanseatic League of Northern Germany, 
and in 1422 Denmark and the Hanse Towns, allied with 
the Count of Holstein, were engaged in a quarrel for 
the possession of Schleswig. 

Spain had not yet attained to the unity of a nation. 
In Castile in 1422 the ruler was John II, a boy of 
eighteen, whose mother was the English Princess 
Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. 
The government was in reality in the hands of the 
powerful minister Alvaro de Luna. John's first 



34 HENRY VI [1422 

cousin, Alfonso V, had become in 1416 ruler of 
Aragon. 

Portugal also was connected with the English royal 
house, for the reigning King, John III, had married 
Philippa of Lancaster, another daughter of John of 
Gaunt. The most interesting personage of the time 
in Portugal was their son, Prince Henry the Navigator, 
who during his voyages round the west coast of Africa 
had recently discovered Madeira. 

Italy also was composed of many independent 
states. Milan was in the hands of the Visconti, and 
in 1422 was ruled by Filippo Maria, the last Duke of 
that family. Florence was ruled by an oligarchy, 
of which the most prominent member was Rinaldo 
degli Albizzi, the opposition being headed by Giovanni 
de Medici. 

The Republic of Venice found herself in a difficult 
position, her attention being divided between Milan 
and the Turks. On the East she needed to expand 
and to preserve her commerce in the Levant, but the 
Turks being aggressive, all her strength was needed 
for the preservation of her position there. On the 
West, however, she was threatened by Milan, who laid 
claim to Padua and Verona, which had been recently 
acquired by Venice. She greatly needed to make 
her frontier secure in this direction, but if occupied 
by a war with Milan she was likely to lose her hold on 
the Levant. This, then, was the problem with which 
Venice was confronted in 1422. 

Naples was ruled by Queen Joanna II, the incapable 



1422] BIRTH AND ACCEkSSION 35 

sister of Ladislas, but her possession was not undis- 
puted. Charles III of Naples, father of Ladislas and 
Joanna, was the cousin and heir of Joanna I, but as 
they became involved in a violent quarrel Joanna 
disinherited him and adopted as her heir Louis of 
Anjou. The result was a century of rivalry between 
the two houses. Charles succeeded in gaining the 
kingdom after his aunt's death, and transmitted it to 
his children, but the claim of Anjou was far from 
being surrendered, and Louis succeeded on his part 
in gaining possession of Provence. His grandson, 
Rene of Anjou, who retained Provence and called 
himself King of Naples and Sicily, was destined to 
become the father-in-law of Henry VI of England. 

Switzerland had established her independence in 
1389, and at the time of the accession of Henry VI 
was quarrelling with Milan for the possession of 
Bellinzona. 

Poland had become united with Lithuania by the 
marriage of Hedwig of Poland with Jagello of Lithuania, 
who became a Christian, and ruled over the united 
kingdoms as Ladislas V. His chief enemies, the 
Knights of the Teutonic Order, could not withstand 
this union. In 1410 they sustained a severe defeat at 
the battle of Tannenberg, Ladislas being assisted 
by his fellow-Slav John Ziska, who afterwards became 
a distinguished leader when the Slavonic reaction, 
so marked at the beginning of the fifteenth century, 
spread to Bohemia. In the following year the Treaty 
of Thorn inaugurated a period of peace for Poland. 



36 HENRY VI [1422 

There remains the Turldsh Empire, which was now 
assuming a threatening attitude towards Europe and 
was especially troubling the Emperor, whose frontiers 
its armies approached, and the Republic of Venice, 
whose Eastern trade was interfered with. The great 
Mahomet I, who had reunited the Turks, was suc- 
ceeded in 1421 by Murad III or Amurath II, who 
continued his father's warfare against the ruler of the 
Eastern Empire, Manuel Palseologus. In 1422 Amurath 
laid siege to Constantinople, but his attention was 
diverted by troubles in his own dominions, and the 
great city of the East was not destined to fall for 
another thirty years. 

Such was, at a glance, the general condition of 
Europe when Henry VI ascended the throne of 
England. 



CHAPTER II 

1423-1437 : youth and tutelage of henry 

The infant Henry, as we have already seen, was 
officially placed under the guardianship of his great- 
uncle, the Duke of Exeter. Exeter held that office for 
the next five years, but owing to the King's tender 
age the good Duke could hardly be expected to take 
an active part in his upbringing, and Gloucester 
thoughtfully arranged that Henry's mother should 
have the principal charge of him during his infancy. 

Henry's second Parliament met on 21 October, 1423, 
and the King now being well advanced in his second 
year it was thought right that he should make a public 
appearance in London. On 13 November Henry, 
with his mother and his nurse, left Windsor and slept 
that night, which was a Saturday, at Staines. Next 
morning they would have gone on, but Henry, upon 
being carried out to his mother's " chair," " shyrled 
and cried so fervently that . . . nothing the Queen 
could devise might content him." In fact he created 
so much disturbance that the Queen, " being feared 
that he had been diseased," took him back again to 
her chamber in the inn, " where anone he was in good 
rest and quyet " ^ ; but the journey was abandoned for 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 593. 
37 



38 HENRY VI [1423 

that day. This exhibition of infantile perversity is 
solemnly related by Henry's chroniclers as showing a 
supernatural instinct against the wickedness of travel- 
ling on the Sabbath. On Monday, as he offered no 
objection to setting out, he was brought without 
further distress of mind to Kingston, and on the 
following day to Kennington. On 17 November the 
little King " with a glad chere sate in his modres 
lappe in the chare and rode thurgh the Cite to 
Westminster , . . and there was brought into the 
Parliament." ^ This was the first occasion upon 
which the young King was introduced to his 
"faithful Commons." At the end of the month, 
on 26 November, he was taken to Waltham Holy 
Cross for a short time, and from thence travelled to 
the royal castle of Hertford, where he kept Christmas 
in the company of the King of Scots, who had been a 
prisoner in England for nearly eighteen years, but 
was now on the point of returning to his kingdom. 

In February 1424 Henry was found to require a 
new nurse, and a worthy dame named Alice Botiller 
was selected by the Privy Council. Owing to the 
custom of wording the proceedings of the Privy 
Council in the name of the King the appointment 
reads somewhat quaintly. " Very dear and well 
beloved," the two-year-old Henry is made to say, 
" because of this our youth and tender age it behoves 
us to be taught and to be instructed in courtesy and 
nurture and other matters beseeming a royal person, 
^ Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), p. 280. 



1424] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 39 

to the end that we may be able the better to hold 
and govern in preservation of our honour and estate 
when we shall come to full age — hoping to arrive at 
this estate by the help of God. And it is reported 
and seems to our Council that you are a person well 
expert and wise enough to so teach and instruct us. 
We are willing by the advice and assent of our said 
Council and we command you in this capacity to 
be about our person and there diligently labour and 
make arrangements. And we give you our permission 
by these presents to reasonably chastise us from time 
to time as the case shall require, so that you shall not be 
molested, hurt or injured for this cause in future time." ^ 

Dame Alice received £40 yearly for these services, 
and in 1426 was awarded in addition an annuity of 
forty marks from the fee farm of Great Yarmouth. 
Henry also had another nurse named Joan Asteley, 
who received an annuity in 1433. 

The Parliament at which the little King made his 
first appearance did not pass without a slight fore- 
shadowing of the direction from which Henry's later 
troubles were to arise. One Sir John Mortimer, 
whose name was a disadvantage to him, for he was 
a cousin of the Earl of March of whose claim to the 
throne the House of Lancaster was so apprehensive, 
had lately been imprisoned on suspicion of treason. 
In February 1424 he attempted to escape from the 
Tower, which so convinced Parliament of his guilt 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council (Rolls Ser.), 
iii. 143. 



40 HENRY VI [1424 

that he was straightway condemned by special attainder 
and executed, whereupon " no small slander arose 
emongst the common people." The Earl of March 
himself came to London to attend this Parliament, 
being a member of the Council of Regency, but he 
somewhat unwisely arrived with a large retinue and 
made a great display, feasting all comers at the house 
of the Bishop of Salisbury. This caused some ill- 
feeling amongst the Lords and especially incensed 
Gloucester, who had always been his enemy. Parlia- 
ment being already in a nervous state of mind, their 
suspicions were easily aroused, and, probably at 
Gloucester's instigation, March was removed from 
England by being appointed to the Lord-Lieutenancy 
of Ireland, a post which was used throughout the reign 
of Henry VI for disposing of inconvenient persons. 
March went to Ireland in 1424, but he was already 
ill — in 1423 he had visited the shrine of St. Alban 
in search of health — and six months later, in January 
1425, he died. The heir to his possessions, and to 
the claim which he himself had never brought forward, 
was young Richard of York, the son of his only sister, 
Anne Mortimer. This young man, who was still a 
minor in his fourteenth year, had his honours restored 
to him by the Parliament of 1426 as Duke of York 
and Earl of Cambridge and Rutland. ^ The custody 
of his lands was granted to Gloucester, but the 

^ The Earldom of Cambridge came to him from his father, that 
of Rutland from his uncle, who died without issue in 1415, and the 
Dukedom of York from his grandfather, Edmund Langley. 



1426] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 41 

wardship of his person was accorded to Joan i widow 
of Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland, to whose youngest 
daughter Cecily he had been contracted in marriage 
about 1424, although the little girl was then only 
nine, and he was thus brought up among the Nevilles. 
In the Countess's household the young Richard 
doubtless formed a friendship with her eldest son — 
his brother-in-law — Richard Neville, afterwards Earl 
of Salisbury, and her grandson, Richard Neville, 
afterwards known as " Warwick the King-maker," 
men who were destined to be York's principal sup- 
porters in later years. 

In 1425 Parliament met on 30 April, and the little 
King was brought to London to open the session in 
person. At the west door of St. Paul's Cathedral he 
was met by his Uncle Gloucester and his Great-uncle 
Exeter, who took him out of his " chair," and he " went 
upon his fete fro the west dore to the steires and so 
up into the quere." ^ Afterwards he was set upon a 
great courser and rode through the city in triumph, 
and " was judged of all men to have the very image, 
lively portraiture and lovely countenance of his famous 
father." ' After this exploit he was taken back to 
his palace at Kennington, but came again to West- 
minster and " held his see diverse daies in Parlia- 
ment." * The age of three and a half seemed early 

^ Joan Beaufort, sister of Exeter and Cardinal Beaufort. 

2 Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 285. 

3 Hall's Chronicle, p. 127. 

* Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 285. 



42 HENRY VI [1426 

to expect the poor child to begin his duties in this 
respect. 

The evils of a minority and the consequent jealousy 
between those into whose hands the business of 
ruling fell now began to be felt. Since October 1424 
Gloucester had been in Holland endeavouring to 
secure the possessions of his wife, Jacqueline of Hainault, 
which lands her former husband, the Duke of Brabant, 
and Philip of Burgundy were unwilling to allow her 
to have. He, however, returned for the opening of 
Parliament in April 1425, and was severely reprimanded 
by the Council for his selfish and heedless imperilling 
of the Burgundian alliance so important to England. 
In this irritated state of feeling " a grudge began to 
kindle 1" between Gloucester the Protector and his 
uncle Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester — the Chancellor 
— who had probably not lost the opportunity of 
emphasizing the reproof of the Council. The real 
cause of the quarrel seems to have been sheer jealousy 
of power; both were haughty men, unaccustomed to 
yield ; the immediate grounds were a dispute about 
Gloucester's right to lodge in the Tower, and the 
designs of both for gaining control of the infant King. 
They were not long in coming to blows. On 29 
October, when the newly elected Mayor of London 
was holding his great dinner, he was peremptorily sum- 
moned from the table by Gloucester and given orders 
to keep strict watch in the city that night. Matters 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 595. 



1425] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 43 

came to a head early on the morrow, but it is not 
quite clear which side was guilty of aggression. Some 
accuse Gloucester of wishing to attack the Bishop of 
Winchester's palace in Southwark,i but Fabyan, who 
— being an alderman — was always well informed 
regarding London affairs, states that about nine in 
the morning the Bishop's men tried to enter the city 
by the bridge gate and were kept out by force. ^ The 
result threatened to be serious. The Bishop's men, 
much incensed, collected archers and men-at-arms 
and assaulted the gate. The men of London, hearing 
the noise, shut up their shops and " sped them thither 
in great number." Such was the excitement that the 
Mayor, with the Archbishop of Canterbury and 
the Portuguese Duke of Coimbra,^ had to ride between 
the combatants eight times before they were able to 
" bring them to any reasonable conformity." * After 
this encounter Winchester hastened to write to the 
Duke of Bedford bitterly complaining of Gloucester's 
conduct, and such was the state of affairs that Bedford' 
was obliged to come over to England to make peace 
and avert the threatened civil war. Bedford, who 
became Protector directly he set foot upon English 
soU — Gloucester only holding that office during his 
absence — arrived in London on 10 January, 1426. 
He seems, however, to have come to England at the 

^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Da vies), pp. 53-4. 
^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 595. 

3 Coimbra was cousin to the King, for he was second son of John I 
of Portugal, and Philippa, eldest daughter of John of Gaunt. 
* Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 596. 



44 HENRY VI [1426 

end of December, for during the Christmas kept by 
the royal household at Eltham in 1425 it is stated 
that he gave the King a ruby set in a gold ring.^ 
Upon his appearance in London the Mayor took 
the opportunity of presenting him with a pair of silver 
gilt bowls containing a thousand gold marks, but 
Winchester had so poisoned Bedford's mind against 
the City of London (as supporters of Gloucester) that 
he gave the Mayor scant thanks. 

On 21 February a Council was summoned at St. 
Albans, but was later adjourned to Northampton. 
It was decided to call a Parliament at Leicester, but 
the precaution was taken of forbidding weapons to 
be worn in the streets. The people, however, took 
bats and staves, and even " stones and plummettes 
of lede and trussed them secretly in theyre slevys and 
bosomys," ^ and hence the assembly earned the name 
of the " Parliament of Bats." Gloucester at first 
actually refused to attend the Council if Winchester 
were present, but after he had been remonstrated with 
by the Archbishop and various other lords he con- 
sented to go. The quarrel was dealt with in the House 
of Lords, Gloucester formally bringing six articles of 
accusation against Winchester. He accused the Bishop 
of keeping him from his lodging in the Tower, of 
wishing to remove the young King from Eltham in 
order to get him under his own control, of preparing 
to assault Gloucester (in Southwark) as he was riding 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council (Rolla Ser.), iii. 285. 
2 Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 696. 



1426] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 45 

to Eltham to prevent this, and of wrongfully accusing 
him to Bedford. He also lodged a strange accusation 
of treasonable attempts against Henry IV. Winchester, 
however, was able to return fairly satisfactory answers 
to all these charges. ^ The Lords awarded merely that 
he should declare his loyalty to all three Henries, 
disclaim any design against Gloucester's person, 
honour or estate, and clasp his hand " with friendly 
and loving words." The two lords were thus by 
Bedford's efforts outwardly reconciled and shook 
hands, " but yit," says a chronicler, " ther was prive 
wrath betuene thaym long tyme after." ^ 

A quarrel had also arisen in Ireland between Talbot, 
who had been discharging the office of Lieutenant 
there since the death of the Earl of March, and the 
local magnate, James, Earl of Ormond, whom he 
accused of sedition. This difference also Bedford 
succeeded in adjusting to their satisfaction. Talbot's 
rule, however, was far from popular in Ireland; he 
is impolitely referred to as "a son of curses for his 
venom, and a devil for his evils." ^ 

The infrequent presence of Bedford in England was 
taken advantage of for another purpose. On Whit- 
Sunday, 19 May, the little King — now in his fifth 
year — was solemnly knighted at Leicester by his good 
uncle John, and himself knighted a number of his 

^ They are given at length in Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. 
Kingsford), pp. 76-94. 

2 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), p. 54. 
2 Wright, History of Ireland, i. 236. 



46 HENRY VI [1426-7 

young nobility, including Richard of York, who was 
then nearly fifteen. 

Winchester, who after the settlement of his quarrel 
with Gloucester had at Bedford's desire resigned the 
Chancellorship in order to lessen the likelihood of 
future collisions, was now allowed to console himself 
by accepting a cardinal's hat. In March 1427 he 
returned with Bedford to Calais, and was there invested 
by the Duke with his new dignity. His acceptance of 
it hardly tended to strengthen his position in England, 
for the English people always disliked anything tending 
towards an undue amount of papal control. Gloucester 
seized the opportunity to question the Cardinal's right 
to sit on the Council and continue to hold the Bishopric 
of Winchester on the grounds of his being a vassal 
of the Pope, but the attack was quashed. The new 
Cardinal threw his energies into the movement for 
the suppression of the Hussites, and remained abroad 
until September 1428. 

On 30 December, 1426, the old Duke of Exeter — 
the King's great-uncle and guardian — died. He can 
hardly have had much influence upon the little King, 
and the fact that a new guardian was not appointed 
until June 1428 shows that the office was not as yet of 
great importance. In the meantime, Henry presum- 
ably remained in the care of his mother, Queen Kather- 
ine. The year 1427 seems to have passed uneventfully 
for him, except as regards the weather, for it was 
" unresonable of the wederyng " ^ and rained almost 
^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 598. 



1428] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 47 

continually from Easter to Michaelmas. On New 
Year's Day 1428 it is recorded that he presented his 
mother with the ruby ring given him by Bedford at 
Christmas 1425. It looks as though the little King 
was even then feeling the pinch of poverty. He 
spent the Easter of that year at Hertford with his 
mother, and afterwards visited St. Albans. In May, 
the Privy Council ordained that Henry should inhabit 
his castles of Wallingford and Hertford in summer 
and those of Windsor and Berkhampstead in winter, 
but this rule does not seem to have been adhered to 
with any strictness. This summer, however, was to 
see a momentous change in Henry's life. Richard 
Beauchamp, the last of the Beauchamps, Earls of 
Warwick, was now recalled from France, and on 
1 June, 1428 was appointed the King's guardian and 
tutor. The Earl was exhorted by the Privy Council 
" to remain about the King's person, to do his utmost 
in teaching him good manners, literature, languages, 
nurture and courtesy and other studies necessary for 
so great a Prince ; to exhort him to love, honour and 
fear the Creator, and to draw himself to virtues and 
eschew vice ; to chastise him reasonably from time to 
time as occasion shall require." Also to lay before 
him " mirrours and examples of tymes passed of the 
good grace and ure prosperite and wele that have 
fallen to vertuous Kyngs." ^ Poor Henry, who grew 
up to be the most virtuous and most unfortunate of 

"^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, iii. Chron. Cat. 
xl., and pp. 296, 299. 



48 HENRY VI [1428 

kings! It is very doubtful whether Warwick was 
such an excellent tutor to Henry as has generally 
been supposed. " Therle Richard," says Hardjmg, 
" in mykell worthyhead enfourmed hym," and he 
was indeed much esteemed and honoured as the 
" father of courtesy," but his methods, though con- 
scientious, were probably too robust for a gentle and 
sensitive child such as Henry. His rule extended 
over nine years of the most impressionable time of 
Henry's life, from his seventh to his sixteenth year. 
That he was in the habit of chastising his pupil we 
know, for at the age of ten or eleven the young King 
began to rebel against it and had to be dealt with 
on the subject by the Council, as will presently appear. 
It is, of course, possible that Henry was a troublesome 
and perverse child, but judging from his extreme 
meekness in after life it hardly seems probable. If it 
were so, to Warwick belongs the very doubtful credit 
of having chastised nearly aU the spirit out of him. 
French writers abhor the Earl as the ruthless jailer of 
Jeanne d'Arc, and even allowing for their prejudice, 
and for the fact that he believed himself to be dealing 
with a dangerous heretic and possible sorceress, it 
must be admitted that he behaved to her with great 
cruelty, since he must have been responsible for the 
circumstances of her imprisonment. Moreover, it was 
he who inculcated in his docile pupil those ferocious 
sentiments towards Jeanne which could only have 
been instilled into his mind by a pitiless fanatic. One 
cannot but believe that it was Warwick himself, and 



1428] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 49 

not the boy Henry, only in his tenth year, who was 
so anxious that Jeanne should not be allowed to die 
a natural death and thus escape death by fire.^ One 
benefit, however, Warwick's tutorship did bring to 
Henry ; the Earl had a son, also named Henry, about 
two years younger than the King, and these boys 
were brought up together and became boon com- 
panions. Their friendship continued after the death 
of the old Earl, and was only terminated by the death 
of young Warwick at the age of twenty-two. Thus 
Henry lost his only recorded friend just about the 
time of his own marriage. The young King had 
bestowed many honours upon him, and among other 
things had created him Duke of Warwick. 

In the mean time Gloucester, although his quarrels 
with Cardinal Beaufort were for the time in abeyance, 
lost no time in committing other indiscretions. In 
1427 he prepared to make a last attempt to regain his 
wife's lands in Holland, and won over the Earl of 
Salisbury to support him ; but his project was promptly 
suppressed by Bedford, and he was finally induced to 
accept the mediation of Bedford and Cardinal Beaufort. 
When Parliament opened in the autumn he occupied 
himself in quarrelling with the House of Lords on 
questions of authority, while at the same time he was 
gravely scandalizing the Commons by openly living 
with Eleanor Cobham, his wife's chief woman-in- 
waiting, whom he had brought back with him from 
Flanders. In 1428 a deputation of women from the 
^ See following chapter. 



50 HENRY VI [1428-9 

Stocks market and elsewhere presented a petition in 
Parliament against Gloucester's evil life. It is notice- 
able that these women, being " respectably apparelled," 
were apparently allowed to enter the House in person 
to deliver their petition.^ Gloucester subsequently 
prevailed upon the Pope to annul his former marriage 
with Jacqueline, and then wedded Eleanor Cobham. 
This affair probably did not tend to increase his 
popularity with the young King, who, when he grew 
up, permitted himself to be easily scandalized. 

In September 1428 Cardinal Beaufort returned to 
England, but he was not greeted with enthusiasm, 
either through fear of papal encroachment or because 
Gloucester had been undermining his position. He 
was met only by the Bishop of Salisbury, with the 
Abbots of St. Albans and Waltham. The Cardinal 
made an attempt to raise funds in England for the 
Bohemian War, but met with no success. He raised 
a force of men, but in the following year was prevailed 
upon to lend them to Bedford for service in France. 

In the autumn of 1429, at a meeting of the Council, 
the Archbishop of York announced that it was the 
wish of Bedford that Henry should be crowned in 
France as soon as possible. Bedford, indeed, was at 
his wits' end, for in July Charles had been crowned 
at Rheims, and all France seemed ready to rise at 
the bidding of Jeanne ; but the Duke still hoped that 
an impressive coronation in Paris might tend to 

^ Annates Monast. St. Alhani, auctore ignoto (Rolls Sor.), V. 
i. 20. 



1429] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 51 

arouse loyalty to the English. Before this could be 
done, however, it was necessary that Henry should 
be crowned in England. Parliament was therefore 
summoned, and decided that the liing should be 
crowned in London without delay. The date fixed 
upon was 6 November, St. Leonard's Day. The 
streets of London were adorned with much pageantry, 
but, as Michelet remarks, the spectacles were all 
moral : there were fountains representative of Gener- 
osity, Grace and Mercy, but they did not flow ; one 
received a cup of wine on discreet demand. ^ The 
day wa"s fine and there were huge crowds, so that a 
priest, a woman and several other persons were crushed 
to death. Several cut-purses were taken and their 
ears cropped ; ^ and that nothing should be wanting 
to the festivities, remarks Michelet with sarcasm, a 
heretic was burnt at Smithfield. 

The ceremony at Westminster was very gorgeous. 
Warwick brought the little King to the abbey, dressed 
in " a clothe of scharlet furryd," and he was led up 
on to a high platform erected between the high altar 
and the choir, " and there the kyng was sette in hys 
sete in the myddys of the schaffold there, beholdynge 
the pepylle alle aboute saddely and wysely." ^ After 
the Archbishop had made his proclamation, the little 
King went up to the altar, and " humely layde hym 
downe prostrate, hys hedde to the auter warde, longe 

^ Michelet, Histoire de France, vi. 313. 

^ Annates Monast. St. Albani, auctore ignoto (Rolls Ser.), V. i. 44. 

^ Historical Collection of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), p. 165. 



52 HENRY VI [1429 

tyme lyyng sty lie," while the prelates " radde exer- 
cysyons " over him and sang anthems, after which 
the Archbishops " wente to hym and strypte hym 
owte of hys clothys in to hys schyrte." Many times 
during the ceremony was the poor boy " dyspoyled of 
hys gere " and clothed again in various robes.^ At 
last the great crown of St. Edward was set upon his 
head, and he returned to his seat, with " ij byschoppys 
stondyng on every syde of hym, helpyng hym to bere 
the crowne, for hyt was ovyr hevy for hym, for he was 
of a tendyr age." Mass then followed, Henry " knel- 
ynge with humylyte and grete devocyon " ; at the 
conclusion of which he was escorted with a great 
and stately procession to Westminster Hall. The 
King walked between the Bishops of Durham and 
Bath, " and my goode Lorde of Warwyke bare uppe 
his trayne," ^ 

There followed a great banquet in Westminster Hall, 
at which the King was served with three courses. 
Judging from the menu, as given by Fabyan, a course 
was as good as a meal. 

First Course — 

Frument ^ wyth venyson. 

Viand royall * planted losynges of golde and enarmed. 

Boar heads in caskes of gold and enarmed, 

^ Historical Collection of a Citizen of London, 166 et seq. 

2 Ibid., 167-8. 

3 Frument was made of wheat and sugar boiled in milk, 

* A compound made of wine, eggs, ground-rice, honey, spices, 
and some kind of fruit, such as quinces or mulberries, and ornamented 
on the top. 






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HOW Ki\(, Hl-;^■|;^■ \i. was ck(j\\nl;ii king ui' kngl.wp 

AT WESTMINSTER 

Warwick Pageant. Brit. Mus., Cottonian M.S., Julius E. I\' 



1429] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 53 

Befe wyth motten boylyd. 
Capon stewyd. 
Sygnet rested. 
Heyron rested. 
Great pyke or luce. 

A rede leche ^ wyth lyons corujoi ^ therein. 
Custarde royall wyth a lyoparde of golde syttyng therein and 
holdyng a floure de lyce. 

Frytour ^ of sunne facyon with a floure de lyce therein. 
A sotyltye * of Saynt Edwarde and Saynt Louys arniyd and uppon 
eyther hys cote armoure, holdyng betwene them a fygure lyke 
unto Kyng Henry standynge also in hys cote armoure, and a scryp- 
ture passyng from theym both, sayeng beholde ii parfight kynges 
under one cote armour. And under the fete of the sayde sayntes 
was wryten thys balade — 

" Holy Sayntes, Edwarde and Saint Lowice 
Conserve tliis braunche borne of your blessed blode, 
Lyve amonge cristen moste soveraygne of price, 
Enheritour of the flourdelice so gode : 
This sixt Henry to reygne and to be wyse 
God graunt he may to be your mode, 
And that he may resemble your knighthode and vertue 
Pray ye hertely unto our lord Jesu." 

Second course — 

Viand blank ^ barred wyth golde. 

Gely * partey wryten and noted with Te Deum laudamus. 

Pygge endored.'' 

^ A leche (properly a slice) seems to have been a kind of mould 
composed of eggs, raisins and dates, spices, and sometimes meat. 
It was cut into slices and coloured with saffron and other spices now 
unknown. According to others it was made of cream, isinglass, 
sugar and almonds. ^ Crowned. 

3 A sort of fritter or pancake. 

* A device of sugar and paste, with wliich it was customary to 
close each course. 

5 White. 

^ Jelly. Seems to have usually been a sort of aspic of meat or 
game. 

' Glazed. 



54 HENRY VI [1429 

Crane rested. 

Byttore.^ 

Conyes.2 

Chekyns. 

Partryche. 

Peacock enhakyll.^ 

Great Breme. 

A white leclie planted wyth a rede antelop wyth a crowne aboute 
hys necke wyth a chayne of golde. 

Flampagne ^ powdered wyth leopardes and floure de lyce of golde. 

A Frytoure gamysshed wyth a leopardes hede and ii estrych 
fedars. 

A sotyltye, an emperour and a kjnige arayed in mantelles of 
garters which fygured Sigismunde ye emperour and Henry the V. 
And a fygure lyke unto Kyng Henry ye VI. knelyng to fore them 
wyth this balade takkyd by hym — 

" Agayne miscreauntes the emperour Sigismunde 
Hath shewed his myght, which is imperiall. 
And Henry the V. a noble knyght was founde 
For Christes cause in actes marciall ; 
Cherysshed the churche, to lollers gave a fall, 
Gyvyng example to kynges that succede, 
And to theyr braunche here in especiall, 
Whyle he doth reygne to love God and drede." 

Third course — 

Quinces in compost.^ 

Blaund-sure '^ powderyd wyth quarter foyles gylt. 

Venyson. 

Egrettes, 

Curlew. 

1 Bittern. 2 Rabbits. 

^ " Dressed," i. e. presumably with the feathers on. 

* Perhaps the same as flampoyntes, a dish of " interlarded " 
pork, grated cheese, sugar, etc. 

^ Compost was made of herbs, raisins, spices, wine, honey and 
other things boiled together. 

^ A sort of spiced pudding boiled with a little fat cheese. 



1429] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 55 

Cok and partryche. 

Plover. 

Quayles. 

Snytes.^ 

Great byrdes. 

Larkys. 

Carpe. 

Crabbe. 

Leclie of iii colours. 

A bake meate lyke shylde quartered red and whyte, set wyth 
losynges gylt and floures of borage. 

A Frytoure cryspyd. 

A sotyltye of oure Lady syttynge wyth her chylde in her lappe, 
and she holding a crowne in her hande. Saint George and Saynt 
Denys knelynge on eyther syde presented to her Kynge Henryes 
Fygure beryng in hande thys balade — 

" blessed lady Christes mother dere, 
And thou Saynt George that called art her knight, 
Holy Saint Denys O marter nioste entere 
The sixt Henry here present in your syght, 
Shedeth of your grace on hym your hevenly lighte, 
His tender youth with vertue doth avaunce 
Borne by discent and by title of right 
Justly to reygne in Englande and in Fraunce." ^ 

From which elaborate menu it may be perceived 
that though we may have advanced in the arts of 
poetry and spelhng, we must yield to our ancestors 
of the fifteenth century the palm in the gentle art of 
devising confectionery. 

The King being crowned, it was now decided by 
Parliament that the Protectorship should — nominally 
at least, cease, although Henry was barely eight 
years old. Gloucester therefore resigned the office, 

1 Snipe. 2 Fabyan's Chronicle, pp. 599-601. 



56 HENRY VI [1429-31 

but without prejudice to the claim of Bedford, and 
only kept the title of Chief Counsellor. 

The way being thus prepared by the Enghsh corona- 
tion for the desired ceremony in Paris, in December 
1429 letters were addressed in Henry's name to the 
towns of France stating that " in compassion for their 
miserable condition he had lately resolved to proceed 
to France in person, immediately after his coronation, 
with so powerful an army that he trusted before his 
return to enable his good people of France to live in 
peace and tranquillity " ^ — a hope which was very 
far from being fulfilled. In April 1430 Henry was 
taken over to Calais with reinforcements, accompanied 
by the Dukes of York and Norfolk, three bishops, 
eight earls and eleven barons. Such was the troubled 
state of the country — for the French were almost 
on the borders of Picardy and had lately advanced to 
Chateau Gaillard — that the young King was kept at 
Calais for three months before it was considered safe 
for him to advance. By July, however, the English 
had recovered twelve towns on the north of Paris, 
and what was of still greater importance, Jeanne 
d'Arc had been captured at Compiegne by the Bur- 
gundians. Henry was therefore able to enter Rouen 
on 29 July, where he remained for nearly eighteen 
months, and finally entered Paris in December 1431. 
He was crowned there on 16 December, but was 
hurried away at the end of the month. The King 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. Privy Council (Rolls Ser.), iv. Chron. 
Cat. iii. 



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HOW KI.XG HENRY WAS CROWNED KING OF FRANCE 

AT ST. DENIS, BESIDE PARIS 

Warwick Pageant. Brit. Mus., Cottonian M.S., Julius E. IV 



1432] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 57 

landed at Dover on 9 February, 1432, after having 
been absent from England for almost two years. 
The gentlemen and commoners of Kent, all arrayed 
in red hoods, met him on Barham Downs, between 
Dover and Canterbury, and escorted him with honour, 
and without undue haste to Blackheath.^ There 
Henry was received, on 20 February, by the citizens 
of London, who presented him with an address, after 
which he rode on to Deptford, where he was met 
by a procession of ecclesiastics. Taking the route 
thence through Southwark to the City, the royal 
cavalcade passed on to St. Paul's through streets 
adorned with many pageants, and after a service of 
thanksgiving in the cathedral the King was suffered 
to proceed to his palace of Westminster.^ 

Not content with this formal welcome, on 22 
February the citizens of London further displayed 
their loyalty by sending a deputation to present Henry 
with the sum of £1000 enclosed in a gold casket, 
accompanied by the following pleasant address : 
" Most cristen prince, the good folk of youre notable 
Cite of London, otherwise cleped your Chambre, 
besechen in her most lowely wise that they nowe be 
recomanded un to yor hynesse, ant th* can like youre 
noble grace to resceyve this litell yefte, yoven with as 
good will and lovjmig hertes as any yefte was yoven 
to eny erthly prince." ^ 

During the King's absence the country had not 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, pp. 603-7. 

* Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, i. 276. ' Ibid., 277. 



:68 HENRY VI [1431 

been without disturbance. Shortly before Whitsuntide 
1431, a rather obscure but interesting rising was 
attempted in Oxfordshire. The leader of the move- 
ment was a Lollard calling himself John or Jack 
Sharp of Wigmoreland, but even contemporary writers 
seem not to have known whether his real name was 
William Perkyns or William Mandeville.^ Fabyan 
says that he was a weaver and a bailiff of Abingdon.^ 
Urged by the distressed state of the common people, 
and inflamed by the injustice of their wretched con- 
dition contrasted with the immense wealth held by 
the prelates of the Church, he revived the Lollard 
petition of 1410, which had then been considered by 
Parliament and rejected. This document contains 
a strange and interesting scheme for the relief of the 
poor. The temporahties of the Bishops, Abbots and 
Priors were to be confiscated. Each of the larger 
Bishoprics, with its dependent Abbeys and Priories, 
was assessed at 20,000 marks, and the smaller at 
10,000 or 12,000 each ; the total being estimated at 
332,000 marks. The " spiritualities " of the prelates 
were of course left to them. These funds, suggested the 
petition, should be used to create fifteen earldoms, fifteen 
hundred knights, six thousand two hundred esquires, 
and a hundred " houses of almes." The persons thus 
exalted were to use their wealth in employing agricul- 
tural labour. Each earl was to expend a thousand marks 

^ Riley, Ann. J oh. Amundesham (Rolls Ser.), i. 63; Chron. Ang. 
de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A, Giles), iv. 13. 
2 Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 602. 



1431] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 59 

yearly and cultivate four" ploughlands " ^ in his 
domains. The knights (whom Jack Sharp forgets to 
mention) were doubtless to do likewise in proportion ; 
the esquires were each to expend £20 yearly, cultivating 
two ploughlands within their domains. Each " house 
of almes " was to distribute a hundred marks yearly. 
It was also petitioned that each town should be re- 
quired to " kepe hys owne beggars " that were unable 
to work for their meat, as had been provided by the 
Statute of Cambridge, and that if they were unable 
to support them all the houses of alms were to help 
them. It was calculated that when all this was 
done there would still be £20,000 left for the King. 
It was added that £110,000 more might with advantage 
be taken, now " wasted among worldly clerkys and 
religyous," which would make a thousand more 
knights and a thousand good priests and clerks " to 
preche the wurd of Godde wyth oute flateryng or 
beggyng or worldly mede to seke therfore." It was 
bitterly complained that the worldly religious did no 
work and took away the profit that should come 
to " true men." The plundered prelates were not 
to be left without means of support, for it was 
estimated; that £143,724 IO5. 4|(Z. would still be left to 
them. 2 

This petition was addressed by John Sharp to the 
Duke of Gloucester and the Parliament, " besechyn 
mekely alle the comuns to ben herd of hem." 

^ The ploughland was anciently assumed to be about 120 acres. 
2 Riley, Ann. J oh. Amundesham (Rolls Ser.), i. 453. 



60 HENRY VI [1431 

The striking feature of the scheme is the wholesale 
artificial creation of employers of labour. Evidently 
there was no deep-seated ill-feeling between the 
labourers and their masters, in spite of the friction 
between them that had arisen owing to the agricultural 
conditions after the Black Death. ^ The people as 
a whole (if the petition represents them) must have 
approved of the aristocracy and have felt some trust 
in them, while their hatred was directed towards the 
luxurious and worldly clergy. Their wish, however, 
was merely to remove from them their enormous 
and superfluous wealth and direct it to better uses ; 
they do not show the least symptom of wishing to 
abolish any rank of the clergy or to interfere with 
their spiritual functions so long as they were worthily 
carried out. It was evidently an attempt to remedy 
the unhappy condition of those who had become 
dislodged from their agricultural pursuits by the 
increase of enclosure for pasturage, and to whom the 
towns with their Craft Gilds had turned a cold shoulder. 
Hence the desire to revive the cultivation of manorial 
lands. 

Jack Sharp began his movement by distributing 
" bills " on the subject of his petition in London, 
Coventry, Oxford and other towns,^ and he thus 
gathered a band of followers at Abingdon. The 
clergy were infuriated at this attack on their worldly 
goods, and did not hesitate to ascribe to its leader 

^ See above, pp. 16 to 18. 

2 Riley, Ann. J oh. Amundesham (Rolls Ser. ), i. 63. 



1431] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 61 

the desire to overthrow the Church. The chroniclers, 
mostly monks, denounce him as a heretic and an 
" iniquitous pest," and say that he expressed a desire 
that priests' heads should be as cheap as sheep's 
heads.i Yet another says that his object was to " have 
destroid the chirche and the lordis spirituel and tem- 
porel," 2 which, unless Sharp in an excess of Lollardism 
had gone far beyond his own petition, was a gross 
exaggeration. We are not told that he did anything 
more than assemble a company of Lollards at Abingdon, 
but Gloucester, who was Lieutenant of the kingdom 
during Henry's absence, determined to put down the 
movement with a strong hand. Leaving Greenwich 
he rode to Abingdon to destroy this " assembly of 
heretics," which quickly dispersed before him. Jack 
Sharp, alias William Perkyns, fled to Oxford, but his 
whereabouts being discovered by one William War- 
belton with the help of friends, information was given 
to the Chancellor of Oxford and the bailiffs of the 
town, and the offender was taken on the evening of 
the Thursday before Whit-Sunday 1431.^ On Tuesday 
in Whitweek he was hanged, drawn and quartered 
and his head placed on London Bridge. Thus the 
unfortunate Jack Sharp was done to death in 1431 
for venturing to bring forward a petition for the 
presentation of which in 1410 no one had suffered. 
The names of only two of his followers are known: 

^ Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 97. 

2 Eing. Chronicle (ed. J. S. Da vies), 54. 

3 Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, iv, 107. 



62 HENRY VI [1431 

John Keterige, who was taken at SaHsbury, and gave 
information against John Longe, of Abingdon/ as 
supplying him with " bills." They were both hanged, 
and their fate was shared by seven others who were 
taken at Oxford with Jack Sharp. John Hals, Justice 
of the King's Bench, was responsible for the execution 
of various others in Coventry and the neighbourhood. 
In November, the Council made a large grant to the 
zealous Gloucester " in consideration of his great 
charge and labour in keeping the realm against the 
malice of the King's rebels, traitors and enemies, and 
especially in the capture and execution of that horrible 
heretic and iniquitous traitor who called himself John 
Sharp," in order that the Duke might the better 
" maintain his estate and retinue for the defence of 
the church, the Catholic faith and the King's true 
subjects." 2 

Owing to his office of Lieutenant of the realm, and 
also to the opportune absence of Cardinal Beaufort, 
Gloucester was able to make the most of these oppor- 
tunities for the strengthening of his position; and 
when the young King returned he contrived to effect 
sweeping changes in the ministry, which made him 
still more secure. It seems likely that, during the 
year that followed, he made efforts to gain personal 
influence over Henry, and succeeded in so far that 
the young King actually ventured to show signs of 
something like rebellion against Warwick's stern rule. 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, iv. 99. 
2 Ibid., iv., xvii and 104; Cal Pat., 1429-36, 185. 



1432J YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 63 

The Earl became aware that some one had been 
poisoning the King's mind against him, for the boy 
was no longer so docile and studious as he had formerly 
been. Warwick perceived that this tendency must 
be corrected at once if his office of tutor were to 
be properly fulfilled; accordingly, on 29 November, 
1432, he laid the case before the Council in much 
detail, 1 

" For the goode reule, demeenyng and seuretee of 
the Kynges persone," he began, " and draght of hym to 
vertue and conyng, and eschewyng of eny thyng that 
myght yeue (give) empechement or let therto or cause 
eny charge, defaulte or blame to be leyde upon the 
Erie of Warrewyk atte eny tyme withouten his desert, 
he consideryng that perill and besynesse of his charge 
aboute the Kynges persone groweth so that auctoritee 
and power yeven to hym before suffiseth hym nought 
withouten more therto, desireth therfore thees thyngges 
that folowen." 

In the first place he desired power to appoint and 
dismiss the officials about the King's person, to which 
the Council agreed, with the reservation that the four 
knights or squires of the body should be appointed 
with the consent of Bedford or Gloucester. 

Secondly, he asked power to remove " eny persone 
in his discrecion suspect of mysgovernance and not 
behoveful nor expedient to be about the Kyng " ; and 
also that he might be freely discharged of his ' ' occupa- 
tion and besynesse " about the King's person " for 
^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, iv. 132 et seq. 



64 HENRY VI [1432 

sekeness and other causes necessarie and resonable." 
To both of these the Council agreed. 

The fourth article is particularly interesting. War- 
wick asks " that consideryng ho we, blessid be God, 
the Kyng is growen in years (he was nearly eleven), 
in stature of his persone and also in conceyte and 
knoweleche of his hiegh and royale auctoritee and 
estate, the whiche naturelly causen hym, and frome 
day to day as he groweth shul causen hym more and 
more to grucche with chastysing and to lothe it, so 
that it may resonably be doubted leste he wol conceyve 
ayenst the saide Erie, or eny other that wol take upon 
hym to chastyce hym for his defaultes, disples[ure] 
or indignacion therfor, the whiche withouten due 
assistence is not esy to be born ; [may] it lyke therfore 
to my Lorde of Gloucester and to alle the lordes of 
the Kynges Counseil to promitte to the saide Erie 
and assure hym thei shal fermely and trewly assisten 
hym in the exercise of the charge and occupacion that 
he hath aboute the Kynges persone, namely in chas- 
tysing of hym for his defaultes, and supporte the said 
Erie therynne; and yf the Kyng at eny tyme wol 
conceyve for that cause indignacion ayenst the said 
Erie, my saide Lorde of Gloucester and lordes shal 
doo alle her trewe diligence and power to remoeve 
the Kyng therfro." The Council agreed, but still 
Warwick was not quite satisfied, and returns to the 
subject in the seventh article : " To thentent that it 
may be knowen to the Kjnig that it procedith of 
thassent, advis and agreement of my Lorde of Glou- 



1432] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 65 

cestre and all my lords of the Kynges Counseil that 
the Kyng be chastysed for his defaultes or trespas, 
and that for awe therof he forebere the more to doo 
mys and entende the more besily to vertue and to 
lernyng, the said Erie desireth that my Lorde of 
Gloucestre and my saide other lordes of the Counseil, 
or grete part of them . . . come to the Kynges pres- 
ence and there make to be declared to hym theire 
agreement in that behalve." The Council, thus 
pressed, agreed to deal with Henry on the subject 
when he next came to London, 

Furthermore Warwick, who certainly did not lack 
thoroughness in his methods, obtained power to 
remove the King " into what place hym thjoiketh 
necessarie for helth of his body and seuretee of his 
persone," and even requested that no one should be 
allowed to have an interview with Henry unless he, 
or some one appointed by him, were present; this 
because he declared that the King had been " sturred 
by some frome his lernyng and spoken to of divers 
matiers not behovefuU." The Council allowed this 
except in the case of " suche persones as for neghnesse 
of blode and for theire estate owe of reson to be suffred 
to speke with the Kyng." 

Lastly, Warwick requested that he should be told 
if there were ever any causes of complaint against him, 
" that he may answere therto and not dwelle in hevy 
or sinistre conceyte or opinion withouten his desert 
and withouten answere." 

It is not recorded that the poor little Henry ever 



66 HENRY VI [1432-3 

again ventured to be rebellious ; such a system might 
well have succeeded in crushing a stronger spirit than 
his, and it is hardly to be wondered at that he grew 
up more fitted for a monastery than for the throne of 
a turbulent country. So thoroughly was the pursuit 
of learning and virtue instilled into him that in after 
life, according to^his chroniclers, he was always only 
too ready to forsake either state affairs or " frivoling " 
for reading, writing, or prayers. 

When Parliament met in 1432 Cardinal Beaufort 
returned to England and had a brief sldrmish with 
Gloucester on the old subject of praemunire,^ in 
which he came o£E victorious, and also succeeded 
in regaining payment for some jewels of his which 
Gloucester had appropriated. He was, however, soon 
recalled to the Continent to sit on the Council of 
Basle. 

In 1433 Bedford himself came over from France 
and attended Parliament in July. After publicly 
thanking him for his services in France, the Commons 
presented a petition that he should abandon the 
war and remain in England for the good government 
of the country. Bedford, who could not fail to see 
the wisdom of this course, was quite willing to agree 
and to accept a Regency ; negotiations for peace were 
actually opened and ambassadors came over from 
France. These reported to their countrymen that 

^ A " praemunire '* was the offence of " paying that obedience to a 
papal process which constitutionally belonged to the Sovereign 
alone." 



1433-5] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 67 

Henry was " a very beautiful child and well grown." ^ 
But Gloucester unfortunately did not share the views 
of the party in favour of peace. He does not seem 
to have felt anything but affection for the person of 
Bedford, but since he hked to be at the head of affairs 
he preferred to have his good brother out of England. 
But besides this, his haughty nature felt it unbecoming 
to the national pride to make peace with France and 
thus acknowledge defeat. It was easy enough for 
him to work up the feehngs of a large section of 
Parliament in this way, and his mihtant policy, 
unfortunately for his country, was quite successful. 
The proposals for peace were abandoned, Gloucester's 
proposition for the renewal of the war was carried 
in Parliament, and Bedford returned to his hopeless 
task in France. He never saw England again, for 
in the following year, worn out by his ceaseless labours, 
he died at Rouen on 15 September, 1435. By his 
death England lost her only able administrator, and 
the only man who could have hoped to quiet the 
factions that were so soon to play havoc in England. 
Gloucester and the other self-seeking statesmen who 
from time to time found themselves in power were 
left without a check, while the former now occupied 
the position of heir presumptive to his nephew the King. 
The year 1435 again saw proposals for peace, but 
Gloucester's influence was unimpaired and they were 
again rejected. 

^ Stevenson, Letters and Papers of Reign of Hen. VI, vol. ii. 
pt. i. p. 225. 



68 HENRY VI [1437 

Early in 1437 the King lost his mother, Queen 
Katherine. She, however, seems to have had little 
or nothing to do with him since about the time of 
Warwick's appointment as tutor. This was not owing 
to any action on the part of the Earl, but because 
she had then felt at liberty to retire into private 
life, and without the knowledge of the Court had been 
married to Owen Tudor. The exact date of the 
marriage is unknown, but since her first child was 
born about 1430, it probably took place in 1428 or 
1429. Owen Tudor, said to have been descended from 
a Prince of North Wales, was a Welsh squire who 
had held the office of Clerk of the Wardrobe to the 
Queen, and had thus had ample opportunity of com- 
mending himself to her. Tradition relates that on 
an occasion when he was dancing before the Queen 
at Windsor he stumbled and fell into Katherine's 
lap, an accident which she is said to have taken in 
no ill part. They lived in such retirement that, 
extraordinary as it may seem, three sons were born 
to them without any news of it reaching the Court. 
These sons were Edmund, afterwards Earl of Rich- 
mond, who became the father of Henry VII ; Jasper, 
afterwards Earl of Pembroke, and Owen, who became 
a monk. However, upon the birth of her fourth child, 
Margaret, in 1436, the situation became known, and 
the wrath of Gloucester descended upon her. Poor 
Katherine, who was very ill, took refuge at Bermondsey 
Abbey, but her children were taken from her and 
given to the sister of the Earl of Suffolk to bring up. 



1437] YOUTH AND TUTELAGE 69 

This blow probably hastened her end, for she died at 
Bermondsey on 3 January, 1437. Her husband, 
Owen Tudor, was imprisoned in Newgate for daring 
to marry a royal princess, but he was afterwards 
released and allowed to retire to Wales. 

The same year died the King's grandmother, Joan 
of Navarre, Queen of Henry IV ; she had long lived 
in retirement at King's Langley in Hertfordshire. 
She died at Havering-at-Bower in Essex, and was 
buried at Canterbury. "Also," a solemn chronicler 
relates — inserting the event between the deaths of 
the two Queens — " this year all the lions in the Tower 
died in one night." ^ 

At this juncture the King, being almost sixteen 
years old, was declared to be of age and no longer to 
require the services of a tutor. Two different reasons 
are given for Warwick's departure : in the words of 
one chronicler — 

" Therle Richard of Warwike then conceyved 
Of the symplesse and great innocense 
Of Kyug Henry, as he it well perceyved, 
Desired to be discharged of his diligence 
About the kyng ; and by his sapience 
Was sent to Fraunce and so was regent, 
And kepte it well in all establishment." ^ 

The other, and far more probable one, was that the state 
of affairs in France called for the presence of an old and 
experienced leader. The Regency was now done away 
with, and thus the King's minority came to an end. 

^ Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), pt. iv. 17. 
2 Hardyng's Chronicle, 396. 



CHAPTER III 
1423-1435 : the work of Bedford in France 

The condition of affairs in France in the year 1422 
has already been examined in a previous chapter. 
At this time the Une of English garrisons stretched 
along the north coast of France from Abbeville in 
the east, close to the mouth of the Somme, to the 
confines of Brittany in the west, while inland they 
extended south to Paris. 

Bedford prepared to move early in 1423, He was 
possessed of an army seasoned by seven years of 
victory, and this, combined with his capable generalship 
and wise administration, enabled him to push forward 
gradually the English arms for another seven years. 

In the first place, however, it was necessary to 
consolidate his position and secure friendly relations 
with his neighbours. Accordingly on 17 April, 1423 
he concluded a triple defensive alliance at Amiens 
between England and the Dukes of Burgundy and 
Brittany, by which the two latter recognized the 
sovereignty of Henry VI in France. The alliance 
was further cemented by two marriages : Bedford 
himself married Anne, sister of Philip, Duke of Bur- 
gundy, and Arthur, Comte de Richemont, brother of 
the Duke of Brittany, married Margaret, Burgundy's 

second sister. The loyalty of Brittany to England 

70 



1423] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 71 

was, however, of short duration. Bedford's wife received 
Artois in dower from her brother, a province which 
formed a substantial safeguard on England's eastern 
frontier. Bedford's marriage with Anne, who seems 
to have made him an excellent wife, was moreover 
very popular in Paris, while Burgundy remained loyal 
to England as long as his sister lived. The prudent 
Bedford had thus been mindful of Henry the Fifth's 
dying injunctions ; he did not personally care for 
the Duke of Burgundy, whom he considered frivolous, 
but maintained very friendly relations with him for 
poUtical reasons, and was himself really popular with 
the Burgundians. His brother Gloucester, on the 
other hand, came within an ace of breaking up the 
alhance by his reckless behaviour. 

The Duke of Burgundy, who numbered Flanders 
among his dominions, had long coveted the neighbour- 
ing states of Hainault and Holland, persuading himself 
that his position was not safe without the control of 
them. Accordingly Jean sans Peur, father of Duke 
Philip, had manipulated a marriage between his niece 
Jacquehne, the young and lively heiress of these desir- 
able lands, and his cousin the Duke of Brabant, a 
sickly and dissipated young man whom he considered 
was very urdikely to have heirs. By this arrangement 
he hoped that the succession would naturally fall into 
his hands. Jacqueline, however, was a lady of spirit 
and was not so easily disposed of. Finding that she 
detested her husband, she left him after three years 
and fled to England in 1421, where she promptly 



72 HENRY VI [1423 

fell in love with the handsome and accomplished 
Humphrey of Gloucester. Gloucester, being much 
attracted by the idea of gaining possession of Hainault 
and Holland, which could not fail to be a most valuable 
acquisition to English trade, was far from discouraging 
Jacqueline's advances, and her divorce from the Duke 
of Brabant was sued for. An obstacle was thrown in 
the way of the lovers' plans by the not unnatural 
refusal of Pope Martin V to consent to this convenient 
arrangement, and considerable delay ensued. There 
remained, however, the Antipope Benedict XIII, who 
since his deposition by the Council of Constance had 
been living in obscurity at Peniscola in Spain. Bene- 
dict, charmed to find that his authority was recog- 
nized by any one, and always ready to contradict his 
rival, granted the required divorce without hesitation. 
Gloucester and Jacqueline were accordingly married 
in 1423, a proceeding which " astonished many 
persons " ^ and caused great scandal. 

When Gloucester claimed Holland and Hainault 
in right of his wife. Burgundy, infuriated by this 
dislocation of his plans, announced his intention of 
supporting the Duke of Brabant, and even went so 
far as to open secret negotiations for peace with the 
French King, which, however, came to nothing, Glou- 
cester thus came into direct collision with Burgundy 
and actually began to raise an army preparatory to 
going to war with his country's most valuable ally. 

^ Chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., iv. 
143. 



1424] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 73 

Bedford, with great difficulty, managed to keep the 
peace between them for about a year, but by October 
1424 Gloucester's preparations were completed, and 
crossing to Calais with Jacqueline, he proceeded to 
invade Hainault. There he " was at the fyrst wors- 
shupfully ressejrved," ^ and was fairly successful on 
the whole in gaining control of the country. The 
merchants and citizens had offered Jacqueline a £30,000 
farm, but it was refused. He then aroused still further 
irritation by sending the Earl Marshal to invade 
Brabant, a province to which he had no right whatever. 
The result of this was the passing of several exceedingly 
quarrelsome letters between Gloucester and the Duke 
of Burgundy, which culminated in a challenge to 
personal combat on the part of Duke Philip, the 
Emperor Sigismund being suggested as umpire. The 
challenge was eagerly accepted by the impetuous 
Gloucester, but Bedford at this point firmly interposed, 
and finally, in 1425, induced Pope Martin V to issue a 
bull forbidding the duel. 

Gloucester meanwhile, whom " the importunacie 
of the woman (Jacqueline) had begoon alreadie above 
measure to make wearie," ^ had grown tired of a wife 
whose possessions caused him so much trouble to obtain. 
He left Jacqueline at Mons, where she parted from 
him "with great lamentations," ^ and indeed she 

^ Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (ed. Gairdner), 59. 

2 Three books of Polydore VergiVs English History (ed. Sir H. 
Ellis), 12. 

3 Chron. of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., iv. 231. 



74 HENRY VI [1425 

had good cause to lament, for she never saw him 
again. After his departure the Brabanters grew bold, 
and surrounding Mons persuaded the inhabitants to 
give up their lady. She was conducted to Ghent and 
kept there as the prisoner of the Duke of Burgundy. 
Shortly after, however, she escaped disguised as a man, 
and fled into Holland, where she was allowed to remain. 
Gloucester returned to England early in 1425 and was 
sharply reprimanded by the Council for his ill-judged 
expedition and his behaviour to Burgundy. They 
refused to provide him with any money or other aid 
for his selfish designs, and, in short, disowned all respon- 
sibiUty for his actions. Bedford was thus enabled to 
pacify Burgundy by representing to him that it was 
a personal and not a national offence, and peace 
was finally concluded between Burgundy and Jacque- 
line in 1428 on condition that she acknowledged 
Burgundy as her heir. Gloucester before this had 
persuaded Martin V to annul his marriage with 
Jacqueline, which was easy, since that Pope had 
never acknowledged it, in spite of a request from 
Bedford in 1424, and he thereupon married his wife's 
favourite waiting-woman, Eleanor Cobham, whom 
he had brought back with him from Holland in 
1425. 

We must now return to 1423 in order to follow the 
course of the English arms from that date. 

Bedford's first task was to complete the occupation 
of Picardy, and early in the year he was successful in 
expelling the French from Noyelle, Rue, and Crotoy 



1423-4] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 75 

at the mouth of the Somme, the last strongholds of 
the Dauphin in that district. In June he went to 
Troyes to celebrate his marriage, and gained several 
small successes on his return journey. In July the 
French at last made a move, and an army was sent 
towards the Yonne to secure the communications 
between Bourges, where the Dauphin held his Court, 
and Champagne. Aided by a large body of Scots, 
they laid siege to Crevant, a town on the Yonne in 
the territory of the Duke of Burgundy. Bedford, 
accompanied by the Earls of Salisbury and Suffolk, 
marched south to raise the siege. Aided by the Bur- 
gundians, he forded the river and attacked the French 
and Scotch, who suffered a severe defeat, their discom- 
fiture being completed by a sally of the garrison of 
Crevant. At this battle many Scots were slain, and 
Sir William Stewart of Darnley, their constable, taken 
prisoner. The result of the victory was to advance 
the English frontier eastward to the Meuse, thus taking 
in Champagne, the governorship of which was given 
to the Earl of Salisbury, while a stronger hold was 
acquired over the Burgundian lands east of Bourges. 

Next year, 1424, the English arms were successful 
in reducing the French strongholds to the west. In 
July, while the English were operating round Ivry, 
Charles made another great effort, raised an army and 
marched into Southern Normandy. Outside Verneuil 
his army, led by Alen9on and Douglas (who had been 
created Duke of Touraine) were met by the English. 
The French were " somewhat appalled by reason of 



76 HENRY VI [1424 

the sudden arrival " * of the enemy, and were undecided 
what course to take, but Bedford succeeded in drawing 
them from their position and a fierce fight ensued on 
17 August. The battle was hard fought, the French 
and Scots slightly outnumbering the Enghsh, but the 
day was decided by the English baggage guard, who 
dehvered a flank attack at the critical moment. The 
English suffered considerable loss, which Bedford 
could ill afford, but the chief slaughter was among 
the unfortunate Scots, " so that they might well say," 
remarks a chronicler with more poetical feeling than 
lucidity, "in the croke off the mone went they thedir- 
ward and in the wilde wanynge kem they homward." ^ 
The Earl of Douglas was slain,^ with the Earl of Buchan 
and many Frenchmen as well as Scots. The Duke 
of Alen9on was captured. The way into Maine was 
now open to the English and a general advance followed, 
considerable progress being made during that year 
and the next. In spite of the peril to the Burgundian 
alliance brought about in the autumn of 1424 by 
Gloucester's rash invasion of Hainault, the English 
succeeded in advancing as far as Sille-le-Guillaume 
and Montfort, not far from Lemans, for Charles, after 
his effort at Verneuil, had again sunk into apathy. 

During 1425 the whole of Maine was subdued, and 
Bedford was thus able to return to England for a 

1 Three books of Polydore VergiTs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 8. 

2 Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kangsford), 285. 

3 In 1425, Margaret, Countess of Douglas, claimed a third of 
Touraine as her rightful dower. 



1425] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 77 

while to adjust the quarrels of Gloucester and Win- 
chester, which threatened to cause serious trouble 
at home. Warwick, Salisbury and Suffolk were left 
in charge of affairs in France. 

This year, however, John Duke of Brittany detached 
himself from his alliance with England and Burgundy 
and joined Charles, being induced on 7 October to 
make an alliance with the latter at Saumur. He was 
probably persuaded to take this course by his brother 
Arthur, Comte de Richemont, who was then high in 
favour with the French King, and was in this year 
made Constable of France. Richemont at this time 
had great influence over Charles VII, and being an 
ambitious and energetic man, might have roused him 
to sustained action; but he unfortunately made the 
great mistake of installing La Tremouille in his place 
during the long absences enforced by his office of 
constable. This La Tremouille, who was a vain and 
worthless man of forty years, quickly undermined the 
influence of Richemont, and used his power over 
Charles to encourage him in the pursuit of every 
kind of pleasure and dissipation. He plunged him 
into quarrels with his own supporters, and for many 
years effectually prevented him from attending to 
the recovery of his kingdom. The only person who was 
able for a time to set his influence at naught was 
Jeanne d'Arc, whom he in consequence cordially 
disUked. 

During the year 1426 the war languished owing to 
Bedford's absence in England. The English, indignant 



78 HENRY VI 1426-8 

at the desertion of the Duke of Brittany, declared 
war upon him, and a few towns within his boundaries 
were captured, but peace was patched up again in 
the following year. 

At the end of March 1427 Bedford returned to 
France, but little was done during the summer. In 
September the English experienced some reverses, 
Salisbury being surprised and repulsed with consider- 
able loss at Montargis in Orleanais by two French 
captains, and a number of towns also being lost in 
Maine. These, however, were merely spasmodic efforts 
on the part of isolated French leaders. Charles was 
too much occupied with his favourites, and too poor 
to trouble about the conduct of the war. The funds 
provided for the payment of the army were misappro- 
priated, the energetic Constable de Richemont was 
in disgrace, and the resistance to the English had sunk 
to a mere guerilla warfare carried on by various inde- 
pendent captains. The most famous of these were 
-fitienne de VignoUes, commonly known as La Hire, 
and the Bastard of Orleans, afterwards Comte de 
Dunois, who in conjunction had defeated Salisbury 
at Montargis, and who will presently be met with 
again. Such was the state of Charles's finances that 
in 1428 the city of Tours took pity upon the poverty of 
the Queen and presented her with linen for her under- 
clothes. Charles and his Court were reduced to hving 
upon the inhabitants of whatever place they were in, 
and while they were in such straits it was impossible 
to maintain the army efficiently. 



1428] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 79 

After the reverse at Montargis, Bedford dispatched 
Sahsbury to England to induce the Council to send 
him powerful reinforcements ; and early in 1428 
Warwick was recalled from France to act as tutor to 
the young King in place of the Duke of Exeter, who 
had recently died. Salisbury, with the assistance 
of his own funds, managed to raise 2700 men in England 
and returned to France with them in July 1428. 
With these reinforcements Bedford had planned an 
expedition to reduce Angers on the Loire, in the heart 
of Anjou, but the Council of Regency at Paris decided, 
not unwisely, that it would be more advantageous 
to reduce the important city of Orleans, the key of 
Central France. ^ This decision does not seem to have 
been altogether approved by Bedford ; he did not join 
the expedition himself, but remained at Chartres to 
direct the campaign from there. Salisbury, however, 
certainly did not, as has sometimes been thought, 
act contrary to orders in going to Orleans. 

Salisbury marched slowly south by way of Nogent- 
le-Roi, gaining many towns on his way, and reached 
the neighbourhood of Orleans at the beginning of 
October. Before preparing for the siege, he strengthened 
his position by securing the adjacent towns of Meung, 
Beaugency, Jargeau and Chateauneuf-sur-Loire. His 
army consisted of about three thousand English and 
a number of Burgundians, who, however, did not 
remain throughout the siege. Orleans, one of the 
most strongly fortified places in France, is situated 

^ Chron. of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., iv. 294. 



80 HENRY VI [1428 

on the northern bank of the Loire, and then, as now, 
was connected with the south bank by a great bridge 
of nineteen arches. Access to it from the town was 
gained by the Porte St. Catherine ; the northern 
end of the bridge was defended by the Bastille de St. 
Antoine, while the southern end was protected by the 
Bastille des Tourelles and an extensive earthwork. 
The city was well furnished with engines of war, 
and also possessed seventy-one pieces of the lately 
introduced artillery, the defence being conducted 
by the Bastard of Orleans and the Governor Raoul 
de Gaucourt. 

Finding his army too small to surround the town 
completely, Salisbury established himself, with the main 
body of his army, on the south bank of the river as 
being the most vulnerable point, and also to cut off 
communications from the south. The rest of the 
army was encamped on the north of Orleans to keep 
guard on that side. Salisbury now directed all his 
efforts towards the taking of the bridge, and was success- 
ful in the storming of the Tourelles. This accomplished, 
however, disaster overtook him as he stood at a window 
in the tower looking down on the bridge. 

The following account, although that of a rather 
late chronicler, has a circumstantial air which makes 
it worth quoting. 

The defenders at the Orleans end of the bridge had 
trained a cannon against this window, and were only 
waiting for some one to appear at it. At the moment 
when Salisbury stood there, watch was being kept 



1428] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 81 

by the son of the master gunner, " whiche was gone 
doune to dinner " ; the boy, however, nothing daunted, 
" toke his match " and fired a shot with such effect that 
the iron frame of the window was shattered, ^ A 
flying fragment hit Sahsbury on the side of the head 
and inflicted such a terrible wound that he died three 
days later, on 3 November. His death was much 
lamented by the English, for he was a man of " hawtines 
of courage and valiancie rather to be compared 
with the auncient Romanes than with men of that 
age." 2 

" So manly was his knightly diligence," says another 
chronicler, ' ' He laboured ever in marciall excellence . " ^ 
His estates devolved upon his only daughter Alice, 
the wife of Richard Neville the elder, the friend of 
York, who thus became Earl of Salisbury in right 
of his wife. 

Salisbury was succeeded before Orleans by Suffolk, 
whose misfortunes seem to have begun from that 
day, and by the renowned warrior Talbot, whose fame 
was such that the women of France were accustomed 
to quiet their refractory children by crying, " The 
Talbot Cometh ! The Talbot cometh ! " * Suffolk, 
however, was chief in command, and, despondent 
of taking so strong a town by assault, he determined 
to wait for famine to reduce it. This was likely to 
be a matter of time, for although he strengthened 

^ Hall's Chronicle, 145. 

2 Three books of Polydore VergiFs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), p. 4. 

3 Hardyng's Chronicle, 394. * Hall's Chrmicle, 230. 

O 



82 HENRY VI [1429 

his lines on the north it was still quite possible to get in 
and out of the town. The siege dragged on all through 
the winter, the two armies exchanging pleasantries 
to pass the time. Dunois sent Suffolk a fur cloak in 
exchange for a plate of figs : encounters were arranged 
between the pages of each side, in which the EngUsh 
came off victorious.^ 

In February the English were a little enlivened by 
the news of a skirmish at Rouvray, not far to the north. 
A convoy of " Lenten stuff " for Suffolk's army, under 
the command of Sir John Fastolf, was attacked by 
the French and Scots. The English arranged their 
effects in a square and beat off the enemy, but shots 
had pierced the provision casks and herrings poured 
forth upon the plain. ^ From this circumstance the 
affair was known as the " Day of Herrings," since 
from the appearance of the field the casualties seemed 
to have been chiefly among the fish. 

The defenders of Orleans were now becoming seriously 
discouraged, for the French seemed incapable of making 
any effectual effort to relieve them. As a last hope, 
they asked that the town might be surrendered to 
the Duke of Burgundy as neutral territory. The 
English, however, being "in great prosperity, never 
considered that the wheel of fortune might turn against 
them " 3 and refused the proposal, not seeing why 
Burgundy should reap the fruit of their toil. Bur- 

^ Michelet, Histoire de France, vi. 165-6. 

2 Ibid., 167. 

2 Chron. of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., iv. 319. 



1429] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 83 

gundy was much annoyed by Bedford's refusal, and 
withdrew his men from before Orleans. 

The French were ready to despair, when Orleans was 
saved by the most extraordinary event of the war. 
" At this time," says an English chronicler, willing 
to dismiss as shortly as possible an episode so discredit- 
able to his country, " the adversaries of the English 
raised up a girl whom they said was destined to be 
victorious, but," he adds with indifference, " they 
were deceived, for shortly after she was taken and 
destroyed with torture as a sorceress." ^ To the English 
army in France, however, the appearance of Jeanne 
d'Arc was an event not so easily passed over. 

For Jeanne's early life and character it is best to 
refer direct to the evidence taken in 1455,^ at which 
time an examination was held at Domremy, Jeanne's 
home, and many of the villagers questioned, including 
her godfather, the friends of her childhood, the priest 
and the neighbours, any one in fact who had had 
anything to do with her. 

Jeanne's parents were labourers of good and honest 
life and far from rich. Jeanne — -all agreed — was a 
good girl ; so good, said one, that all the village loved 
her, while her next-door neighbour Mengette admitted 
that she went so far in her youth as to tell Jeanne that 

^ Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J, A. Giles), iv. 11. 

^ Similar evidence was taken in 1430, but was suppressed by the 
Bishop of Beauvais because favourable to Jeanne : Jeanne d^Arc 
set forth in the original documents (ed. by T. Douglas Murray). The 
following account is compiled almost entirely from the evidence 
given in this book. 



84 HENRY VI [1429 

she was too pious. For the rest, they said, she was 
gentle, simple and modest, well brought up and good- 
mannered. She was of a serious disposition and did not 
care much for playing, singing or dancing, a taste which 
brought upon her the grumbling of her companions, 
who sometimes laughed at her when she went away 
from them " to talk with God." She was very fond 
of going to the village church, and at times scolded 
the sexton, Perrin le Drapier, as he testified, for for- 
getting to ring the bell, promising to bring him wool 
from her flock if he would attend to his duties better. 
She was also fond of visiting the Hermitage of the 
Blessed Mary of Bermont. Her occupations were 
chiefly indoor duties about the house, spinning and sew- 
ing, at which she showed much industry. Sometimes, 
however, she followed the plough, or minded the cattle 
and sheep " when it was her father's turn," but she 
particularly stated in her own evidence at her trial 
that she did not habitually go into the fields with the 
flocks, but only helped with them when needed. She 
never swore, we are told, but contented herself with 
saying " without fail." She was fond of nursing the 
sick, which was attested by one whom she had 
nursed, and was so hospitable that she would sleep 
on the hearth in order to give the guest her bed. 

Such was the evidence of the simple villagers who 
lived with her at Domremy until her departure for 
the war.i As to her two years with the army, rough 

* Jeanne tPArcied. T. Douglas Murray ) : depositions atDomremy, 
213-31. 



1429] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 85 

captains of war, such as the Bastard of Orleans, the 
Sieur de Gaucourt, and others all testify that no 
one could have been more sober and chaste in conduct. 
It appears that she took strong measures to eliminate 
camp-followers from the army, and also that she would 
not suffer blasphemous language in her presence. ^ In 
the latter respect she had particular trouble with 
La Hire, who was given to great freedom of expression, 
but seeing how hard he tried to break himself of the 
habit after her expostulation, she allowed him to use 
the one oath " Par mon martin " — " By my staff " — 
with which he contrived to be content. ^ 

According to Jeanne's own testimony, she was thir- 
teen when she first believed that she heard a voice 
speaking to her. This Divine voice, she declared, 
spoke by means of St. Catherine and St. Margaret, 
and sometimes St. Michael. At first, she said, they 
bade her be good and go often to church ; afterwards 
they told her more and more often to go " into France," ^ 
and lastly to raise the siege of Orleans and take the 
Dauphin to be crowned at Rheims.* In spite of the 
fact that she knew nothing of the art of war, Jeanne's 
ardent faith would not allow her to remain at home, 
and in the early spring of 1429, at the age of seventeen, 
she persuaded her uncle, Durand Laxart of Burey le 

^ Jeanne d'Arc (ed. T. Douglas Murray) : depositions at Orleans, 
232-51. 

2 Ibid., 308. 

* Domremy is on the borders of Lorraine. 

* It was customary for all French Kings to be consecrated at 
Rheims, and not at Paris : Jeanne d'Arc, 10. 



86 HENRY VI [1429 

Petit, to take her to Vaucouleurs, the nearest fortified 
place, in order that she might get an escort to take 
her to Charles. Here the Captain, Robert de Baudri- 
court, repulsed her several times, telling her uncle to 
take her back to her father and have her ears boxed.^ 
At length, however, he was won over, sent her to see 
Charles of Lorraine, and provided her with all she 
needed. Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengey 
both advised her to assume a man's dress for greater 
safety in her long and perilous journey across France, 
and she accordingly exchanged her " red dress, poor 
and worn " ^ for a suit provided by de Metz, an action 
which does not seem at the time to have occasioned 
the least surprise. Before she set out, the inhabitants 
of Vaucouleurs had a man's dress and equipment 
specially made for her, and also presented her with a 
horse. Thus she journeyed to Chinon in Touraine, 
where the Dauphin was, accompanied by Jean de 
Metz or de Novelemport, Bertrand de Poulengey and 
four others. According to the evidence of Jean and 
Bertrand, she inspired them both with profound 
respect.^ Eleven days were occupied by the journey, 
which was for greater safety made largely at night, 
and Chinon was reached on 6 March, 1429. After 
two days, the Dauphin was persuaded to grant her 
an audience. At this interview Jeanne declared with 
such simple conviction that she was sent from God to 
raise the siege of Orleans and to conduct the Dauphin 

^ Jeanne d'Arc (ed. T. Douglas Murray), 226. 
2 Ibid., 223. 3 jbid^^ 223, 229. 



1429] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 87 

to Rheims to be crowned that even the apathetic 
Charles was won over. In order to be quite sure of 
the approval of th^ Church, he sent her to Poitiers, 
where she was detained for three or four weeks, to be 
examined by a body of prelates and clergy. This 
company having decided that " there was nothing 
found in her which was not Catholic and reasonable " ^ 
Charles hesitated no longer, and Jeanne was sent to 
Blois, where an army had been assembled to conduct 
a convoy of supplies to Orleans. Leaving Blois on 
28 April, they made their way up the river. Jeanne 
wished to approach by the north bank, reaching 
Orleans from the west, but as the English were strong 
on this side, her captains, without informing her, took 
her round by the south side to a point east of the city, 
opposite the outlying Bastille de St. Loup. Here 
they were met by the Bastard of Orleans and La Hire. 
But the course taken by the French Captains and 
approved by Orleans now involved the difficulty of 
crossing the Loire, which was then high, in the face 
of a contrary wind. It was therefore thought best 
that the army should return to Blois for the time, leav- 
ing the convoy to cross if it could. Jeanne pointed 
out to the Bastard that they would have done better 
to take her advice ; however, at this point, the wind 
changed suddenly, and at nightfall the boats were 
able to get up the river to the city under cover of the 
darkness. Thus Jeanne entered Orleans on the evening 
of 29 April, 1429. She was received as an angel of 
^ Jeanne cCArc (ed. T. Douglas Murray), 244. 



88 HENRY VI [1429 

God by the inhabitants, who escorted her with acclama- 
tion to the cathedral to return thanks. 

While still at Poitiers, Jeanne had sent a letter to 
the English leaders bidding them leave France in 
peace, and she now sent another to Suffolk and Talbot 
to the same purpose. The English, not unnaturally, 
received this summons with rage and scorn, considering 
her to be a witch, and one of her heralds hardly escaped 
with his life. Bedford later described her without 
reserve of language as a " disciple and lyme of the 
Feende." ^ Nevertheless, they were quite unable 
to withstand the fire of enthusiasm with which Jeanne 
inspired all whom she led. 

The army from Blois having returned to Orleans 
on 3 May, the attack on the English was begun on 
the 4th. The Bastille de St. Loup on the east and the 
Tower of St. Augustin quickly fell, and on 7 May the 
English were actually driven from the Tourelles and 
the Boulevart beyond. It seems that they were seized 
with panic at the sight of Jeanne and her white banner 
with the motto " ou nom de." Jeanne herself was 
wounded in the neck by an arrow, but did not retire 
to Orleans until the day was won, when she had her 
wound dressed and refreshed herself with her usual 
simple meal of four or five slices of bread dipped in wine. 

Early next morning the English marched out of 

their camps. Jeanne armed herself and awaited events. 

Meanwhile, as it was Sunday, she had Mass celebrated 

in the presence of the army. At the end of Mass the 

^ Rymer's Foedera, x. 408, 



1429] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 89 

English were observed to be in full retreat towards 
Meung. Orleans was saved, 

Jeanne's next task was to recover the neighbouring 
towns. Jargeau was taken, and Suffolk himself 
captured while carrying on a desperate resistance 
in the streets. Matthew Gough was expelled from 
Beaugency. The English army then retreated north, 
pursued by Jeanne, who came up with them at Patay. 
Their position was betrayed by a stag which, put up 
by the French, ran towards the English lines and caused 
them incautiously to raise a shout.^ Talbot's army, 
demoralized by retreat, could not stand against the 
impetuous valour of Jeanne's soldiers, and they were 
put to flight, Talbot himself being made a prisoner. 

The way now lay open for the accomplishment 
of Jeanne's purpose. Hastening into Touraine with 
Dunois, she visited the Dauphin at Tours and at Loches, 
and implored him to go quickly to Rheims to be crowned. 
In this she was wiser than Charles's captains, who 
wished to attack Normandy, for Charles's prestige 
could not but gain immensely by the performance 
of the time-honoured consecration at Rheims. The 
Dauphin at length yielded to her urgent representations, 
and the expedition set out. The important town of 
Troyes was subdued on the way, and Chalons and 
many other towns opened their gates. 

On 17 July, 1429, Charles VII was crowned and 
anointed in the cathedral at Rheims, as his ancestors 
had been since the earhest times. Jeanne stood by 

^ Chron, of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., iv. 328, 



90 HENRY VI [1429 

with her banner, and thus saw her declared mission 
accompHshed. 

Up to this time, as she declared before the King and 
his Court, her voices had urged her on, saying, "Fille 
de Dieu, va, va, va ! Je serai a ton aide ! " but after 
leaving Rheims, as she afterwards said, they were for a 
long time silent, and Jeanne for her part only wished 
to return home. " Would it might please God," 
she said to Dunois and the Archbishop of Rheims, 
" that I might retire now, abandon arms and return to 
serve my father and mother, and take care of their 
sheep with my sister and my brothers, who would be 
so happy to see me again." ^ But the army, and those 
lords who believed in her, would not suffer their leader 
in so many victories, whom they venerated as "La 
Pucelle de Dieu," to leave them, and she was obliged to 
remain. 

Seeing that she must go on, she urged Charles to 
march at once on Paris and take it by a bold stroke, 
and the progress northwards was accordingly begun. 
Bedford meanwhile had withdrawn the shattered 
remnants of his army to the neighbourhood of the 
capital and had sent to England for reinforcements. 

It happened that just at this time Cardinal Beaufort, 
with the assistance of a Papal Commission, was raising 
a force in England for service in the crusade against 
the Hussites in Bohemia. Owing to the stress of 
circumstances in France, however, he was prevailed 
upon in July 1429 to lend this company to Bedford 
1 T. Douglas Murray, op. cit., 240. 



1429] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 91 

for six months' service in France ; for which rather 
doubtful proceeding he received a reward of 2000 marks 
from the Council. ^ Paris was thus well defended. 

Charles advanced to Soissons, but here his evil 
genius La Tremouille, the mortal enemy of Jeanne, 
persuaded him to halt. So much, however, was the 
confidence of the English shaken, that on 7 August 
Bedford actually addressed a letter to Charles, rather 
insolent in tone, expressing his willingness to make peace 
on reasonable terms.^ Charles entered Compi^gne, 
and in a half-hearted way began to negotiate a truce. 
But Jeanne, impatient at this foolish vacillation, and 
burning to advance, pushed on to St. Denis, and on 
8 September, at the urgent advice of her captains, 
ordered an assault on Paris, although, as she afterwards 
said, she was not supernaturally directed to do so. 
The attack was unsuccessful, and Jeanne, while fighting 
in the trenches, received a wound. This reverse gave 
La Tremouille the opportunity of betraying the interests 
of his country. The French army was withdrawn from 
the neighbourhood of Paris on 10 September, and dis- 
banded at Gien on the 21st, at a moment when a rapid 
and decisive advance into Picardy would have roused 
the country and cut off Paris. Already the English 
were driven from the Loire, from half ile-de-France and 
nearly all Champagne ; a united effort on the part of 
the French might have saved twenty years of miserable 
warfare. 

^ Rymer's Fcedera, x. 427. 

2 Chron. of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., iv. 341-4. 



92 HENRY VI [1429-30 

The whole winter was spent in controversy and 
inactivity on the part of Charles, Jeanne went to 
Bourges, took the Burgundian town of La Charite in 
November, and employed the rest of the winter in 
visiting the towns she had freed and confirming them 
in their loyalty. Meanwhile the English had time to 
recover from their panic. In October, Bedford, to 
make quite sure of Burgundy's loyalty, at the request 
of the Parisians made over to him the Regency of France, 
retaining to himself the Governorship of Normandy; 
after which they both left Paris. 

Bedford meanwhile had sent to England to recom- 
mend that the coronation of Henry VI in France should 
now take place, as a last hope of counteracting the 
impression produced by the coronation at Rheims, 
and of awakening loyalty to the English, On 23 April, 
1430, the young King was brought over to Calais by 
his tutor the Earl of Warwick, but there he was obliged 
to remain for the next three months, until the route 
to Paris was less unsafe. 

In May the Burgundians renewed their activity in 
lle-de-France, and towards the end of the month 
concentrated their forces round Compidgne. Jeanne, 
weary of inactivity, gathered a band of reinforcements 
at Crespy and rode by night to the rehef of Compiegne, 
entering the town about sunrise on 23 May. About 
nine in the morning she made a sally, and being drawn 
away from the town by a feigned retreat of the Bur- 
gundians, she was cut off by a party in ambush. Her 
men, seeing the danger, fought their way back almost 



1430] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 93 

to the drawbridge, but some of the EngHsh and Bur- 
gundians reached it first, and the governor of the town, 
either through treachery or fear, raised the bridge, 
leaving Jeanne hemmed in on all sides. After a struggle 
she was taken captive by the men of Jean de Luxem- 
bourg, who was in the service of Burgundy. Having 
kept her three or four days, he sent her to the castle 
of Beaulieu, where she was imprisoned about four 
months while Luxembourg, Burgundy and Bedford 
haggled over her price. Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, 
on the part of the University and Inquisition of Paris, 
claimed her as a heretic against the Church, and on 
the part of Bedford offered 10,000 livres tournois 
(about £16,000 present value) for her person — the usual 
ransom of a king.i In August, Jeanne was removed 
to Beaurevoir, where she was Idndly treated by the 
Countess de Ligny, wife of Luxembourg, but about 
November she was finally sold to the English, in spite 
of the entreaties of the Countess, for 10,000 francs. 
She was then taken to Arras and thence to Crotoy, 
where she was handed over to the Enghsh. Finally, 
in December, she was removed to Rouen for her trial, 
and confined to the castle. 

In July Ejng Henry had left Calais with Warwick, 
and on the 29th had entered Rouen in state. He was 
living in the castle when Jeanne arrived, and remained 
there throughout her trial. Warwick, his tutor, was 
governor of the castle, and consequently the jailer of 
Jeanne, in which capacity he gained an unenviable 
1 T. Douglas Murray, op. cit., 387. 



94 HENRY VI [1430 

reputation. It is sad that the young Henry should 
have been present to lend his countenance to the shame- 
ful events that followed, but as he was only nine years 
old we can but hope that his alleged sentiments on the 
subject were dictated to him by Warwick and Bedford, 
on whose shoulders a great part of the blame for Jeanne's 
death must rest. 

It must be admitted that the English found them- 
selves in an awkward position. Such seemed the 
supernatural character of Jeanne's success that the 
mediaeval mind was obliged to attribute it to the agency 
either of God or the Devil. Being possessed, as French 
writers do not fail to point out, of " the pride of Lucifer," ^ 
they could not bring themselves to own that they were 
in the wrong and had been defeated by Divine agency, 
therefore it was necessary for them to prove for their 
own satisfaction that Jeanne was a " disciple and limb 
of the Fiend." For the same reasons of outraged pride 
mingled with orthodox zeal they had conceived such 
a violent hatred for the poor girl that they would not 
for the world have her die a natural death. Warwick 
even went so far as to attribute this infamous sentiment 
to Henry. The orthodox House of Lancaster ever 
delighted in hounding a heretic, but it is difficult 
to believe that the gentle Henry can ever have been 
so fierce, even in the cause of his beloved Church. 

It must be remembered, however, that in those days 
the authority of the Church was paramount, and bold 
indeed was the man who dared to defy it. Hence when 
^ Michelet, Histoire de France, vi. 284-5. 



1430] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 95 

Jeanne declared that, for her, the authority of her 
voices must be above even that of the Church men 
felt, no doubt, that she must be abandoned to her fate. 
Again, as they knew, it was laid down in the Canon 
Law that for a woman to assume the dress of a man 
was a thing abominable to the Lord (although why this 
point had escaped the Prelates of Poitiers is not 
clear). Worst of all, they asked themselves, without 
sorcery — a connection with the Evil One fervently 
believed in and abhorred by every God-fearing man — 
how could Jeanne have been so extraordinarily suc- 
cessful against the Enghsh arms ? Jeanne, then, was 
regarded by them as both a heretic and a witch, both of 
which crimes they were accustomed to see expiated 
by a fiery death. ^ It was therefore perhaps as much 
a spirit of righteous indignation as of vengeful fury which 
brought the unfortunate Pucelle to her untimely end, 
— at least on the part of the best of the English ; it 
is to be feared that the soldiery were actuated chiefly 
by the latter feeling. 

Jeanne was confined at Rouen during the time of 
her examination, from December 1430 to May 1431, 
in a room on the second floor of the castle that con- 
tained the bed on which she slept and a great block 
of wood to which she was chained. Five English 
soldiers kept guard over her night and day, two out- 
side and three inside the room. She was charged 

^ Throughout the reign of Henry VI heretics were burnt from time 
to time at Smithfield, and the accomphces of Eleanor Cobham, 
convicted of witchcraft, perished in the same manner. 



96 HENEY VI [1431 

with heresy by the Church, yet she was kept in a lay 
prison and cut off from clerical guidance. The doctors 
of Poitiers had declared her orthodox, but, ignoring 
this, the carefully chosen court of Rouen, under the 
instigation of the infamous Cauchon, Bishop of Beau- 
vais, prepared a maze of subtle questions to entangle 
her into erroneous statements. No charge was pre- 
sented to her, and she was allowed no counsel for her 
defence. More than that, Cauchon suppressed the 
too-favourable evidence of the villagers of Domremy, 
and servile clerks were provided who took down her 
answers with omissions. Fortunately there were also 
honest recorders who refused to be tampered with, 
and so her marvellous defence has come down to us 
intact. 

Jeanne's examination began on 21 February, 1431, 
but after six public examinations they were continued 
in private, and lasted until the end of March. The 
assessors got little satisfaction from their questioning ; 
nothing could move Jeanne from her serene simplicity. 
Her answers, which create an impression of entire 
honesty and sincerity of purpose, together with remark- 
able clearness of mind, were the admiration of lawyers 
of later years, and even her accusers marvelled at them. 
" Do you know if you are in the grace of God ? " they 
asked her on one occasion; " If I am not," answered 
Jeanne, " may God place me there ; if I am, may God 
so keep me. I should be the saddest in all the world 
if I knew that I were not in the grace of God. But 
if I were in a state of sin do you think the voice would 



1431] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 97 

come to me ? I would that every one could hear the 
voice as I hear it." ^ Questioned about the voice she 
repUed : " As firmly as I beUeve in the Christian Faith, 
and that God^hath redeemed us from the pains of Hell, 
that voice hath come to me from God and by His 
Command." ^ 

On 27 March, the " Trial in Ordinary " began. 
On 18 April, worn out by the strain, Jeanne fell ill; 
Bishop Cauchon visited her in her prison and delivered 
a " charitable exhortation." A doctor was also sum- 
moned by Warwick because, he said, revealing his 
motive with entire frankness, " the I^ng . . . had 
bought her dear, and he did not wish her to die except 
by justice and the fire." ^ Jeanne, unfortunately for 
herself, recovered. 

In order to entrap her into heresy, the assessors 
required her to declare that she would abide by the 
decision of the Church militant with regard to her 
voices and visions. But Jeanne, being absolutely 
convinced that her voices were divine, could only 
reply that though she believed herself to be subject 
to the Church, God must be served first. To this she 
adhered, although threatened with torture and the 
most dire penalties. "If I were condemned," she 
said, " if I saw the fire lighted, the faggots prepared 
and the executioner ready to kindle the fire, and if I 
myself were in the fire, I would not say otherwise and 
would maintain to the death all I have said." * 

^ T. Douglas Murray, op. cit., 18. ^ ii)i^^^ 17, 

3 Ibid., 107, footnote. « Ibid., 126. 

H 



98 HENRY VI [1431 

On Thursday, 24 May, formal sentence of condemna- 
tion was therefore pronounced, Jeanne being placed 
on a platform opposite the Judges. Then at last the 
poor girl, " fearing the fire " and seeing the executioner 
waiting with his cart, for a short time broke down. 
She was only nineteen. She was induced to put her 
mark to a written abjuration denying her visions and 
acknowledging the wickedness of wearing male attire. 
This done, her sentence was altered to one of perpetual 
imprisonment — to the great anger of the English rabble, 
who were wishing for the spectacle of her death — 
and she was taken back to the castle and provided 
with a woman's dress. 

But in a few days Jeanne's courage returned. On 
28 May, the Judges, hearing that she had resumed her 
male dress, went to the prison to question her. She 
had, indeed, felt herself obliged to resort to it as a 
protection, the English soldiers not having been removed 
from her cell. According to the evidence of Pierre 
Massieu, she told him that the soldiers had taken away 
her woman's dress while she slept and had thus forced 
her to assume the male attire they gave her. But 
besides this she reaffirmed her faith in her voices : 
" If I said that God had not sent me," she said, " I 
should damn myself, for it is true that God has sent me ; 
my voices have said to me since Thursday, ' Thou hast 
done a great evil in declaring that what thou hast done 
was wrong.' All I said and revoked I said for fear of 
the fire." ^ Her fate was sealed. Frankly, Cauchon 
^ T. Douglas Murray, op. cit., 137. 



1431] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 99 

and the English were deHghted. On 30 May, Jeanne 
was declared relapsed, excommunicate and heretic, 
and sentenced to death. Immediately afterwards 
she M^as burnt in the market-place of Rouen. Her 
ashes were cast into the Seine. 

In England her death does not seem at the time to 
have aroused much comment ; it is not until consider- 
ably later that a chronicler is found to state that her 
sentence was " the hardest that ever had been remem- 
bered " 1 ; it seems to have been the English in Rouen, 
i. e. chiefly the soldiers, who showed such a merciless 
hatred of Jeanne. It was they who thrust from the 
castle any whom they suspected of favouring her, 
and who hurried away the priest who was consoling her 
last moments. The point of view of their leaders is 
shown in the letter sent, nominally from Henry, to 
Burgundy, about a week after Jeanne's death. 

" Most dear and well-beloved uncle," it begins, " the 
fervent love and great affection which you like a very 
Catholic prince bear to our Mother Holy Church and 
to the advancement of our faith, doth both reasonably 
admonish and friendly exhort us to signify and write 
unto you such things which to the honour of our Holy 
Mother Church, strengthening of our faith, and pluck- 
ing by the roots of most pestilent errors, have been 
solemnly done in the city of Rouen." 

The letter goes on to relate how Jeanne had been 
" clothed in man's apparel, a thing in the sight of 
God abominable," and how " presumptuously making 

^ Three books of Polydore VergiVs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 38. 



100 HENRY VI [1431 

her vaunt that she had communication personally 
and visibly with St. Michael and a great multitude of 
angels and saints of Heaven, as St. Catherine and 
St. Margaret . . . she came into the field ... to exercise 
unnatural cruelties in shedding of Christian blood " ; 
" but," it continues, " Divine Power having compassion 
on His true people, and willing no longer to leave them 
in peril, nor suffer them to abide readily still in ways 
dangerous and new cruelties, hath lightly permitted of 
His great mercy and clemency the said Pucelle to 
be taken in your host and siege which you kept for 
us before Compiegne ; and by your good mean 
delivered into our obedience and dominion." It 
relates that she was dealt with by the body of eccle- 
siastics, " but all this notwithstanding the perilous 
and inflamed spirit of pride and of outrageous presump- 
tion, the which continually enforceth himself to break 
and dissolve the unity of Christian obedience, so 
clasped in his claws the heart of this woman Joan, that 
she neither by any ghostly exhortation, holy admoni- 
tion, or any other wholesome doctrine which might 
to her be showed, would mollify her hard heart or bring 
herself to humility. But she advanced and avowed 
that all the things by her done were well done ; yea, 
and done by the commandment of God and the Saints, 
before rehearsed, plainly to her appearing ; referring 
the judgment of her cause only to God, and to no 
judge or Council of the Church militant." ^ 

One cannot but wonder if Henry and Jeanne, lodged 
* Halliwell, Letters of the Kings of England, 108 et seq. 



1431] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 101 

so close to one another in the castle of Rouen, ever saw 
each other ; probably the strict surveillance of Warwick 
prevented it. 

Jeanne had perished, but her work was done. Even 
Bedford admitted later that his non-success dated from 
her appearance. The deliverance of Orleans had 
caused a burst of joy all over France, and as Jeanne 
pressed on and triumphantly brought Charles their 
rightful king to be anointed at Rheims as his ancestors 
had been for numberless generations, the sleeping spirit 
of nationality began to awake all over the country. 
The army had tasted success and was inspired with new 
courage ; towns were no longer content to submit 
themselves tamely to the English rule, but had to be 
kept by an English garrison, and this in itself was a 
serious strain on the resources of the English. The tide 
of public opinion had turned against the invader, and 
the apathy resulting from many years of misery was 
being thrown off. A sign of the times was the fact 
that the men of material interests now began to drift 
over to the side of Charles, and it was not long before 
Burgundy himself began to waver. 

The route to Paris now being open, Bedford having 
recovered the revolted towns between Rouen and 
the capital, Henry was taken to Paris by Bedford and 
Warwick early in December 1431 to be crowned. 
The ceremony took place at Notre Dame on 16 Decem- 
ber, Henry being the only English King who was ever 
crowned there. Paris in the heart of winter, depopulated, 
wretched and starving, can hardly have been a cheerful 



102 HENRY VI [1431 

spectacle, but the officials did their best to cloak it 
by providing numerous splendid pageants in the streets. 
The funds necessary for the coronation had, as usual, 
to be advanced by Cardinal Beaufort. The function, 
which was meant to create an impression and revive 
the loyalty of the French, signally failed in its object, 
although Henry was considered to be " an impe of 
most excellent towardness and disposition." ^ He 
was then aged just ten. No French Princes were 
present ; even the King's French grandmother, though 
in Paris at the time, was absent ; Mass was sung and 
the actual ceremony of coronation performed by 
Cardinal Beaufort, to the great offence of the Bishop 
of Paris, whose cathedral it was. The whole was con* 
ducted according to English rites, which gave needless 
offence to the French clergy. A banquet followed the 
coronation, and the King was entertained during the 
courses by tableaux, and probably enjoyed himself, 
but the affair was grossly mismanaged. The members 
of the French Parhament, Doctors of the University, 
and magistrates, who arrived in state, found no places 
provided for them and had to scramble for seats with 
the mob. Even the crowd was discontented, for no 
one troubled to scatter alms; they complained that 
they would have done better at the wedding of a 
goldsmith. No prisoners were liberated and no taxes 
remitted : the Parisians were deeply disappointed. 
Next day a tourney was held, but on 27 December, 
Bedford, who was not easy as to the King's safety, 
1 Three looks of Polydore VergiVs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellia), 39. 



1431-2] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 103 

hurried him away from Paris and sent him back to 
England. 1 Thus ended Henry's only excursion abroad. 

During December 1431 Burgundy concluded a six 
years' truce with Charles ; but these truces made 
little difference to the progress of the war, for the 
Burgundians, in order to strike a blow against the 
French, would pretend to be English, while the French, 
when they felt a desire for a brush with the Burgundians, 
would pretend to mistake them for English, so that 
fighting continued nevertheless. 

Little was done in 1432, An attempt by the French 
to take the city of Rouen failed, but the English lost 
ground in Maine, and the important town of Chartres 
was taken from them by an ingenious stratagem. A 
large part of the population of Chartres, including many 
of its defenders, was attracted to one end of the town 
by the preaching of a Jacobin friar who had an under- 
standing with the French. Meanwhile several fish 
and wine carts drove up to a gate at the opposite side 
of the town and effected an entrance. No sooner were 
they inside than the drivers threw off their disguise, 
their comrades hidden in the carts leapt from their 
concealment, and the gatekeepers were overpowered. 
Thus the way was opened for the French army, which 
lost no time in entering the town.^ 

A still more serious occurrence for the English during 
this year was the death of Bedford's wife, Anne of 

^ For an account of the whole function, see Chron, of E. de Mon- 
strelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., v. 2-6. 
2 Ibid., V. 22-3. 



104 HENRY VI [1433 

Burgundy, for thus the strongest link between Bur- 
gundy and England was severed. In the following year 
Bedford, with strange impolicy, acting under the in- 
fluence of the Bishop of Therouanne, married Jacquette 
of Luxemburg, 1 an action which, occurring so soon 
after the death of Anne, gave rise to a slight coolness 
with Burgundy. 

Bedford went home for a while in July 1433, while 
Burgundy, annoyed at a French incursion into his 
domains, and repenting of his truce, conducted a bril- 
liant campaign in the north-east and succeeded in tem- 
porarily recovering for his ally the districts east of 
the Seine and Yonne. 

In England, Bedford found a strong party in favour 
of peace. Parliament actually presented a petition 
that Bedford should abandon the war and remain in 
England to devote his energies to the good of that 
country. This would indeed have been a wise action, 
but Gloucester, touched in his short-sighted national 
pride, raised a furious opposition to the proposal, and 
by a great misfortune persuaded his countrymen that 
it would be a weak and unworthy course to make peace 
at this juncture. Bedford therefore returned to his 
hopeless task — and he must have known that it was 
hopeless — in July 1434, after a year's absence. Such 
was the deplenished state of the Treasury that he was 
obliged to come to its assistance himself, and generously 

^ This lady afterwards married Sir Richard Woodville, who was 
created Lord Rivers. Their daughter Elizabeth became the Queen 
of Edward IV. 



1433-4] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 105 

offered to devote his Norman revenues to the conduct 
of the war for the next two years. ^ 

In France, a new and sinister symptom had already 
developed. The peasants of Normandy, the most 
English and loyal province of the North, began to 
rise against the EngHsh and throw off their dependence, 
and, conducting a little warfare on their own account, 
obstinately refused to be suppressed . Thus the English , 
in the province upon which they placed most reliance, 
were exposed to the great disadvantage of having 
the country-people against them. Disaffection even 
appeared among the garrison of Calais, but there 
it was effectually stamped out, four soldiers being 
executed. 

An event had taken place at the Court of Charles 
in 1433 which was destined in a few years' time to 
produce great results. This was the murder of La 
Tremouille, Jeanne's enemy and Charles's worst friend. 
It remained to be seen what efforts Charles was capable 
of when freed from the deadening influence which so 
encouraged his inactivity. 

Most serious of all. Burgundy, although ostensibly 
conducting campaigns against the French, was privately 
considering the advisability of deserting the English. 
His domains of Burgundy and Flanders were in a 
miserable condition, and the peace-loving burghers 
and merchants of the latter were urgent in impressing 
upon him their desire that he should give up the war. 

^ Nicholaa, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, iv. Chron. Index, 
xxviii. 



106 HENRY VI [1435 

Moreover, his neighbour on the eastern side, the Emperor 
Sigismund, had lately concluded a peace with Charles, 
so that Burgundy, thus placed between two fires, 
began to feel it a necessity to make peace with France 
and agree to overlook the murder of his father. 

Accordingly, in the spring of 1435, Burgundy invited 
all the Powers to a Conference at Arras for the purpose 
of negotiating a general peace. In July the delegates 
arrived. England was represented by the Archbishop 
of York, William Lyndwood and Sir John Radcliff ; 
France by the Duke of Bourbon, the Constable de 
Richemont, and the Archbishop of Rheims. Delegates 
were also sent from Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Denmark, 
Poland and Italy. 

France began by suggesting that England should 
keep Gascony and Guienne, with a few additions 
in the neighbourhood, and that she should also be 
paid 600,000 crowns, in return for which Henry should 
renounce the title and arms of the King of France. 
The English on their side were willing to yield to France 
all districts south of the Loire except Gascony and 
Guienne (thus undoing all Jeanne d'Arc's conquests in 
the North), and offered to pay 120,000 saluts yearly 
for the royal style and arms of France. The French 
were willing to meet them to the extent of giving up 
practically all Normandy, but further than that they 
would not go. Negotiations continued until the end 
of August, when both sides presented an ultimatum. 
England demanded the status quo with a slight recti- 
fication of frontiers, i. e. Normandy with a large part 



1435] BEDFORD'S RULE IN FRANCE 107 

of ile-de-France and Maine, besides portions of 
Guienne and Gascony. France offered the whole 
of Normandy in return for the renunciation of the 
royal style and arms ; the English were to liberate 
the Duke of Orleans (who had been a prisoner in England 
since Agincourt), and Henry was to receive in marriage 
a French Princess without dowry. The English, how- 
ever, who were not very sincere in their desire for peace, 
refused to give up the royal style as typifying their 
claim to France, and on 6 September withdrew from the 
Congress. The French made a last effort, and offered 
to postpone the question of the renunciation of the 
royal style until Henry should be of age if England 
would evacuate the territory not ceded to them ; 
but the English hardened their hearts and refused the 
offer with contempt. 

The Congress however, although it failed in its 
chief object, had one very important result : Burgundy 
and France came to an understanding. Charles agreed 
to apologize for the murder of Philip's father, Jean sans 
Peur, and to give up the guilty ones. Philip was also 
to receive five counties and various other concessions, 
and was relieved from performing personal homage to 
Charles. These very favourable terms show that 
Charles was fully aware of the value of the Burgundian 
alliance. Peace was concluded between them on 
21 September, and Burgundy received absolution from 
the Cardinals present from his oath of allegiance to 
the English. His defection aroused a storm of indigna- 
tion in England and gave fresh impetus to the warlike 



108 HENRY VI [1435 

opinions of Gloucester and his militant party ; in 
October, Parliament gave its sanction to the continuance 
of the war against France and Burgundy. Henry was 
so much hurt by the letter from Burgundy announcing 
his change of side and omitting the style of King of 
France that tears ran down his cheeks.^ The Londoners 
gave vent to their fury by plundering the houses of 
the Flemish merchants in the city. 

A few days before the conclusion of the treaty 
between Charles and Burgundy Bedford died at Rouen, 
on 15 September, 1435. He had lived to see his work 
undone and the position of England in France more 
unstable than when his charge had been committed 
to him. But for this he was not to blame. He had 
done his best to advance his nephew's claim, but his 
task was impossible, and with him perished the last 
hope of success. There was no one to carry on his 
wise and capable rule in France, and no firm and ex- 
perienced hand to direct the movements of the troops. 
England could ill spare this just and prudent statesman, 
the only blot upon whose career was his treatment of 
Jeanne d'Arc. He had been made a Canon of the 
Cathedral of Notre Dame of Rouen in 1420, and was 
buried in that church, under the shrine of St. Senier, 
on the last day of September 1435. His epitaph was 
inscribed on a tablet of copper, which was attached 
to a pillar on the left side of the High Altar. ^ 

^ Chron, of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., v. 192. 
• Histoire de VSglise cathidrale de Rouen, Rouen 1686, pp. 65, 204. 



r^' 




JOHN OF LANCASTER, DUKE OF BEDFORD 
Brit. Mus., Add. MSS., 18850 f. 256b. 



CHAPTER IV 
1437-1450 : character of henry vi 

It is now time to examine the character of the King 
called upon to rule over the troubled realm of England. 
In order better to understand subsequent events it 
will be well to consider his character now as it appeared 
when fully developed, although we shall presently 
take up the history of his career in his sixteenth year. 

It is a strange thing that in such an age, when all 
the forces of lawlessness and disintegration were at 
their height — with such an ancestry, his father a 
great warrior whose aim was the conquest of a neigh- 
bouring realm, his grandfather a man whose ambition 
led him to wrest the crown from his own cousin — and 
with such an upbringing as the stern Warwick is 
likely to have given him, there should have been 
placed upon the throne of England at this time a man 
wholly devoid of self-seeking ambition, without a 
trace of that bold and warlike spirit so much admired 
by his age, whose sole aim seems to have been the 
practice of those virtues usually known as the " fruits 
of the spirit " — charity, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. It was 
as though he were sent that the sins of his house and 
his country might be expiated upon his innocent head. 

109 



110 HENRY VI [1437 

His unostentatious virtues did not commend them- 
selves to his generation : they would have none of 
them. His fate was the more pathetic in that had he 
possessed greater strength of character, wider powers 
of intellect, a gift for administration, he might have 
gone down to posterity as the St. Louis of England. 
But Henry was without these qualities, and that at a 
time when they were most needed if he was to maintain 
his worldly position, for he had inherited the mental 
weakness of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI of 
France. Consequently his end was one of ignominy and 
contempt. But had Henry not suffered for the sins 
of his dynasty at a time when England was at the 
lowest ebb in her history, his people would never have 
known the strong, regenerating rule of the Tudors. 
His ruin was necessary for the good of his country, but 
the poor King can hardly have had the consolation of 
being aware of it; truly he might have said bitterly 
with Hildebrand : "I have loved righteousness and 
hated iniquity and therefore I die in exile," although 
Henry's exile was to culminate in a still harder fate. 
Most of Henry's biographers, being monks, are ex- 
tremely eulogistic, but even allowing for their bias the 
general idea of his character given by them seems in 
accordance with history. 

Henry's essential characteristic was his entire 
unworldliness. He " took all human chances, miseries 
and afflictions of this life in so good part as though he 
had justly by some offence deserved the same." He 
" ruled his own affections, gaped not after riches, and 



1437] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 111 

was careful only of his soul's health." ^ Indeed, his 
worldly estate never seems to have appeared of much 
importance to him. During the civil war which 
devastated his kingdom, he allowed himself without 
protest to be taken about from place to place by which- 
ever side happened to be in the ascendancy, and it is 
never recorded that he bemoaned his lot. Two or 
three times he was roused to indignant activity by 
the conduct of the Yorldsts, but for the most part he 
remained quite calm. Not that he was a coward ; 
if fate placed him on a battle-field he remained there, 
even though wounded and in great danger, when the 
lords who were supporting him at the moment fled 
for their lives. He was " never in anye greate 
feare whatsoever chaunced," says the continuator of 
Hardyng's narrative. ^ Neither could he have been 
a moral coward, for although he several times buckled 
on his armour during the civil war, upon joining battle 
he steadfastly refused to use his weapons against 
Cliristian men : a noble principle which must have 
been considered most extraordinary in those turbulent 
days, and one to wliich it required some courage to 
adhere. It is to be hoped that his spirit of calmness 
and resignation made his long imprisonment under 
Edward IV less irksome than it would have been to 
most men. 

He was quite indifferent to wealth and luxury : 
a habit of mind which not infrequently embarrassed 

1 Three books of Polydore VergiVs Enj. Hist{ed. SirH. Ellis), 70-1. 

2 Hardyng's Chronicle, 437. 



112 HENRY VI [1437 

those who had to do with him. Once, we are told, 
a certain " great lord " brought him a rich coverlet 
for his couch, wrought with gold and much ornament, 
but Henry, " most eagerly desiring things celestial 
and spiritual and despising in comparison things 
earthly," could hardly be persuaded to look at it.^ The 
said lord might perhaps have been excused for thinking 
him somewhat ungrateful. On another occasion he 
rejected a legacy on the ground that he had received 
sufficient kindness from the donor while he was alive. 
Henry's generosity was also a source of difficulty, 
for his gifts, like those of Alexander the Great, were 
regulated by the principle of what it was fitting for 
a king to give, without consideration of what he could 
afford or of how much the recipient was worthy. ^ 
He gave away the Crown lands so recklessly to almost 
any one who entreated his favour that his revenues 
became seriously diminished, and he had not sufficient 
income left to meet the expenses of his household. 
Nevertheless, having a mind above accounts, he 
continued to give away anything that occurred to him, 
even his state robes. One can well imagine that the 
officers of his household found their good master at 
times a Httle trying. If he heard that one of his 
chaplains was obhged to mend his vestments he would 
cause him to be given enough material for ten new 
ones ,3 and, needless to say, he was assiduous in giving 

1 Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Hearne), 294. 

* Riley, Registrum Abbatice, J. Whethamstede (Rolls Ser.), 248-9. 

3 Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Hearne), 294-5. 



1437] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 113 

alms to the poor. This ill-regulated generosity, and 
his obUviousness to the fact that he was running into 
debt, indeed amounted to a grave defect. 

Henry was a simple and upright man, without guile 
or malice ; he " coveted no revenge for injuries, but 
gave God most humble thanks for the same." His 
charity and humanity were indeed remarkable, 
and in that ferocious age were probably considered a 
rather contemptible weakness. On one occasion it 
is related that " hearing that one of his servants had 
been deprived by theft of a great part of his goods, 
the said King sent him twenty nobles as compensation 
for his loss, at the same time advising him that he 
should now be more careful in the custody of his 
property, and that he should not go to law for this 
cause." ^ 

His humanity did not become blunted by the 
horrors of the civil war, for when entering Cripplegate 
after the battle of St. Albans he observed a portion 
of a human frame over the portal, and upon being 
told that it had belonged to a traitor, " false to the 
King's majesty," he bade them have it taken down at 
once. " For," he said, " I am not willing that any 
Christian should be treated so cruelly on my account." ^ 
His personal misfortunes seem to have fostered in 
him a sort of pious resignation, for later in Ufe even 
personal assault did not stir him to wrath. When 
two men set upon him and one inflicted a deep 

^ Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Hearne), 295. 
2 Ibid., 301. 
I 



114 HENRY VI [1437 

wound in his neck, he " patiently bore " it, merely 
rebuldng them with the words : " Forsothe and 
forsothe, ye do fouly to smyte a Kynge enoynted 
so." 1 During his imprisonment in the Tower under 
Edward IV, a man attacked him and wounded him 
in the side with a poniard, but when Henry regained 
his liberty the man was pardoned.^ 

It must not be supposed, however, that Hemy was 
incapable of strong affection, for he was sincerely 
devoted to his wife Margaret and their son. He was 
remarkable also for his faithfulness to his friends ; had 
he been willing to give up Suffolk and Somerset at the 
crucial moment he might have saved his throne, yet 
he refused to condemn Suffolk to death and clung to 
Somerset although his championship dragged him into 
the jaws of civil war, and brought upon him the defeat 
at St. Albans. 

Henry was imbued with the strict orthodoxy upon 
which the House of Lancaster prided itself. He was 
devoted to the Church, and regarded Lollards and other 
heretics with pious horror. We never read that he 
intervened to mitigate the fate of the Lollards, who, 
from time to time during his reign, were condemned 
to the stake. This seems an unamiable trait in an 
otherwise gentle character, but in the fifteenth century, 
when religious toleration had not yet dawned upon 
Europe, when heresy was regarded as a poisoned limb 
which must be cut off and cast away for the preserva- 

^ Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Heame), 301. 
2 Ibid., 302. 



1437] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 115 

tion of the whole, it could not have been otherwise. A 
king brought up in an atmosphere of unquestioning 
orthodoxy, without any great intellectual power of 
his own, domineered over by Cardinal Beaufort, 
could hardly have been expected to attain to a breadth 
of view entirely alien to his times. 

His behaviour in church was held up as a model 
by his chroniclers, for he bared his head and knelt 
devoutly, following the service with great attention. 
Neither would he allow his retinue to draw their 
weapons then nor bring their hawks into church, nor 
carry on discussions there, which seems to have been 
the usual mode of behaviour.^ He was also particular 
about the recital of grace before meals. 

His tastes were serious and studious, and he " had 
good learning in great reverence," ^ as is amply 
testified by his two great educational foundations, 
Eton, and King's College, Cambridge. Neither did 
he care for any sort of frivolity : " So they worry me," 
he complained, " that scarcely am I able even hastily 
by day or night without disturbance to snatch refresh- 
ment by the reading of some sacred doctrines." ^ 
He was fond of music, and took care to provide both 
his new colleges with choristers to sing the sacred 
offices, yet he said : " We would rather that they 
should grow less in musical accomplishments than in 
knowledge of the Scriptures." * He is known to have 

1 Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Heame), 290. 

2 Three books ofPolydore Vergil's Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 157. 
» Blakman, op. cit, 299. - Ibid., 296. 



116 HENRY VI [1437 

composed a Sanctus, which is still preserved at his 
Cambridge College. Except on Sundays and holy 
days, he spent his time chiefly in business, study and 
prayers ; it appears, however, that he was occasion- 
ally known to hunt.^ His taste in dress was of the 
simplest, in which respect, as well as in his aversion 
to going to law, he resembled the Quakers, for he 
preferred clothes of a plain cut in dark and quiet 
colours. 2 

His modesty was such that his chronicler was 
moved to quote instances more diverting than he 
intended. On the occasion of a Christmas ball at 
Bath, Henry, he affirms, was so much shocked by 
the inadequate dresses of some of the ladies whom they 
would have presented to him that he turned his back 
and left the room, exclaiming, " Fy, fy, for shame ! 
forsothe ye be to blame ! " while the scantiness or 
absence of the bathing costumes used at the famous 
baths disturbed him so much that he quitted the town 
in haste.^ 

Like Jeanne d'Arc, he would not permit swearing 
in his presence, but severely rebuked any one who 
thus forgot himself, pointing out that he was setting 
a bad example to his family and servants. The most 
violent expression Henry himself is ever recorded to 
have used was, " Forsooth and. forsooth ! " * or " St. 
John ! " which cannot be said to err on the side of 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 357, 525. 

2 Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Heame), 298. 

3 Ibid., 292. 4 Ibid., 300. 



1437] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 117 

over-expressiveness. He is also extolled by Blakman 
for his truthfulness. 1 

But with all these virtues poor Henry was not 
possessed of the qualities necessary to the making 
of a successful king. With his inherent weakness of 
character, he was influenced in turn by whichever of 
his lords had succeeded in insinuating himself into the 
royal favour. His chroniclers, realizing the beauty 
of his character, rightly lay the chief blame for his 
unwise political actions on the " false lords " who 
misled him, and not on himself. He had no power of 
self-assertion to check the turbulence of his subjects, 
for his mild and gentle personality made little im- 
pression on the average, somewhat stern, mediaeval 
character. Neither did he in the least understand 
the spirit of his own age, for he dwelt for the most 
part in a dreamy realm of his own, into which he only 
allowed the clamour of the outside world to penetrate 
at necessary intervals. He showed no power either 
of discerning the character of those about him, or of 
interpreting the signs of the times. 

The nation's ideal of a king was a distinguished 
and warlike monarch such as Henry's illustrious father. 
The people began by loving Henry VI for his goodness, 
but, chiefly owing to his lack of popular qualities, they 
ended by treating him with absolute indifference, and 
his enemies declared that he had not " heart or manli- 
ness " to be a king. 2 

^ Blakman, op. cit, 288. 

2 Continuator of Hardyng's Chronicle, 448. 



118 HENRY VI [1437 

Such was Henry VI of unhappy memory : a man 
who in private life would have been conspicuous for 
his virtues and who would have been happy in a 
cloister. It was hard that he should have had to 
occupy a mediaeval throne, for he was too Christian 
for his position and for his times. 

His virtues did not pass wholly unrecognized by 
his contemporaries, for in 1446 Pope Eugenius IV 
sent him the Golden Rose, a distinction conferred by 
the Papacy upon sons of the Church who were deemed 
specially deserving of recognition. 

The next monarch of Henry's name, his avenger 
Henry VII, began to take measures for obtaining the 
canonization of Henry VI, but this pious tribute to 
his memory was cut short by the Tudor monarch's 
death. 

In person, Henry is said to have been tall of stature, 
slender and well-proportioned in frame, and " of 
comely visage . . . wherein did glisten continually 
that bountifulness of disposition wherewith he was 
abundantly endowed." ^ His portraits show a some- 
what thin and pointed face, with dark eyes and a 
long and slightly aquiline nose. The mouth is small 
and well-formed, the underlip rather thicker than the 
upper. The jaw is rather sloping, the chin inchned 
to be long, and not prominent. The expression is one 
of slight nervousness or timidity. Three contemporary 
portraits of Henry VI are preserved to us, showing 
him at different periods of his life. The first, at 

1 Three books ofPolydore VergWs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 156, 











g« 



o 

O 'j: 



Z 3 



1437] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 119 

King's College, Cambridge, represents him as a young 
man. That in the National Portrait Gallery shows 
him in middle life. Finally, in the royal collec- 
tion at Windsor there is his portrait as a compara- 
tively old man. He cannot have been really old, since 
he ended his troubled life at the age of fifty, but the 
face is much aged and lined compared with that of the 
London portrait. All three pictures represent him in 
what was presumably his usual dress : a dark tunic with 
bands of ermine over the shoulders and round the neck, 
dark red sleeves and a gold collar, and the insignia 
of some order \vith a jewelled cross. The close dark 
cap comes down over the ears in all three portraits. 
Among the King's manuscripts in the British Museum 
there is a folio presented by Talbot to Queen Margaret, 
on the title page of which are represented Henry and 
his wife. The King and Queen also appear in the 
tapestry in St. Mary's Hall at Coventry, but as portraits 
these are probably of little value. 

The young Henry, aged barely sixteen, now found 
the responsibilities of government over-early thrust 
upon him. The youthful King was nothing if not 
good-natured, and instead of in any way asserting 
his own mil he set before himself the amiable but im- 
possible task of pleasing all parties. His kindly 
weakness in consequence played havoc in the ajffairs 
of the Council. 

The King's uncle Gloucester was at this time in 
a fairly strong position, and he had the support of 
York and Salisbury, while his lifelong enemy, Cardina 



120 HENRY VI [1438 

Beaufort, was growing old, and, besides, spent much 
of his time abroad. The Cardinal, however, had two 
nephews, John, Earl of Somerset, and Edmund, Earl 
of Dorset, sons of the old Earl of Somerset who died 
in 1410, who were destined some years later to succeed 
to their uncle's influential position with the help of 
the Earl of Suffolk, and Kemp, Archbishop of York. 
Henry, however, at no time showed much affection for 
Gloucester. Probably the looseness of the Duke's 
private life repelled the young King, and with his 
religious leanings towards peace he would also be dis- 
tressed by Gloucester's determined advocacy of the war. 

The Privy Council soon became embarrassed by 
Henry's kindliness of heart, which apparently led 
him to be over-merciful. Early in 1438 the following 
memorandum occurs in their minutes — 

" Remember to speke unto the King to be warr 
how that he graunteth pardons, or elles how that he 
doeth [causeth] them to be amended, for he doeth to 
him self therinne greet disavaille, and now late in a 
pardon that he graunted unto a customer the which 
disavailled the King, 2000 marcs." ^ 

His rash generosity also worried them — 

" Remember to speke unto the King what losse he 
hath had by the graunte that he maad to Inglefeld 
of the constableship and stewardship of the castel and 
lordship of Chirk, to the losse of 1000 marcs." ^ 

To add to Henry's difficulties, as the chroniclers 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, v. 88. 
2 Ibid., 89. 



1438-9] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 121 

relate, " the land was at that tyme full of treson after 
the death of the Duke of Bedford." ^ A feud was being 
carried on between the two branches of the Neville 
family in the North, for old Ralph Neville of West- 
moreland had married twice and had had large families 
by both wives, and now that he was dead the two 
families were quarrelling over his lands. The young 
Earl of Westmoreland and his two brothers on the 
one side took arms against the Dowager Countess of 
Westmoreland, Ralph's second wife, and her two sons 
the Earl of Salisbury and Lord Latimer on the other, 
and they had actually come to blows, with " great 
routes and companies upon the field, and done further- 
more other greet and horrible offences, as well in 
slaughter and destruction of our people as other- 
wise," 2 The leaders of both sides were cited to appear 
before the Council, and apparently some sort of an 
understanding was arrived at. 

Henry was also lacking in means. He seems, un- 
fortunately, to have been brought up in an extravagant 
mode of living, for his private expenditure was twice 
the amount customarily laid out by his grandfather, 
and in 1439 there was great murmuring because of 
the non-payment of the expenses of his household. 
Henry was, indeed, continually in debt in this respect 
throughout his reign not because his personal tastes 
were extravagant, for they were simple almost to 
austerity, but owing to his deplorable habit of making 

1 Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 141. 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, v. 90, n. 



122 HENRY VI [1439 

recklessly generous gifts of money or land to any who 
petitioned him. In this way many of the Crown lands, 
from which a great part of his revenue was derived, 
were alienated — a grievance which will be heard of 
later. At the time of the " complaints " mentioned, 
the revenues of the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall 
were assigned to the purpose of paying the King's 
debts. 

Also there had been a great decrease since the 
reign of Henry V in the amount of revenue derived 
from taxation. This was partly due to the reductions 
made in the assessment for subsidies to relieve the 
impoverished condition of many of the towns, and also 
to the large amounts which the dishonest collectors 
of the revenue appropriated for themselves. But the 
chief cause of the decrease was the great fall in the 
customs on the export of wool, owing to the fact that 
more and more wool was being used in the country 
itself as the cloth industry increased in prosperity, and 
much less was consequently exported. 

The country, moreover, was in a distressed condition, 
for the three years from 1437 to 1440 were years of 
great dearth owing to the unusual wetness of the 
weather ; ^ in 1439 the famine was the worst that had 
been known since 1315-16, and the poor were reduced 
to eating bread made of beans, pease and vetches. 
In 1439 also the pestilence was so bad that it gave rise 
to the somewhat quaint enactment that any one 

1 Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), 
iv. 18; Chron. Mon. St. Albani (J. Amundesham ; Rolls Ser.), 157. 



1440] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 123 

having occasion to do homage should be excused from 
kissing the King.^ 

This year proposals for peace were considered, but 
the Cardinal being occupied in France as the chief 
English envoy, Gloucester had the ear of the King and 
was able to persuade him to reject the terms. This, 
however, was almost the last occasion on which his 
influence triumphed before it began to wane. 

In 1440 Archbishop Kemp was made a cardinal, 
and Gloucester, hoping that the people would be 
suspicious of undue papal influence in the country, 
took this opportunity to attack both Kemp and 
Cardinal Beaufort, bringing against them wild charges 
of malversation and treachery which could not possibly 
be substantiated, and which did the accused no harm. 
He also protested against the release of the Duke 
of Orleans, which was decided upon in 1440 and 
carried through in spite of his objections. Orleans 
took an oath on the sacrament not to bear arms 
against England, but " my seyde Lord of Gloucester 
agreyd never to hys dely veraunce ; qwan the masse 
began he toke his barge." ^ Clearly his influence was 
no longer supreme. 

The chief blow to his position, however, was brought 
about by the ambitious schemes of his wife, Eleanor 
Cobham. This woman, who had been JacqueUne 
of Hainault's chief waiting-woman, and whom 
Gloucester had raised to the position of his duchess, 

^ Rolls of Parliament, v. 31. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 40 ; 1. 27. 



124 HENRY VI [1441 

could not forget that her husband, in the absence of 
direct heirs to the King, stood nearest to the throne. 
The ambitious Eleanor allowed this idea to gain 
possession of her mind, and she even resorted to astro- 
logy and superstitious practices, with the consequence 
that in 1441 she was charged with using magical arts 
against the King's life, the attack being skilfully 
engineered by the Beauforts. The Duchess fled into 
sanctuary at Westminster, but this expedient was 
unavailing against such a crime as "wdtchcraft, and she 
was brought forth to be tried. She and her accompUces, 
Roger BoUngbroke and Margery Jourdain, an accredited 
witch, were solemnly accused of making a wax image 
of the King and melting it over a slow fire with the 
intent to bring about a similar wasting in his person, 
and other such matters. The unfortunate Roger 
and Margery suffered extreme penalties, the former 
being hanged, drawn and quartered, and the latter 
burned. Eleanor, whose life was spared by Henry's 
mercy, was condemned to a fantastic penance. For 
three consecutive days she was compelled to walk 
through the streets of London, barefooted, " with a 
meke and demure countenaunce," ^ carrying a taper 
weighing one pound, accompanied by the Mayor, 
Sheriffs and " crafts " of London. The first day her 
allotted pilgrimage was from Temple Bar to St. Paul's, 
the second day from the Swan pier to Christ Church, 
Aldgate, and the third from Queenhithe to St. Michael's, 
Cornhill. After doing this public penance she was 
1 Eng. Chron. Rich II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 59. 



1440-1] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 125 

condemned to lifelong imprisonment ; she died in 
1454 at Peel Castle in the Isle of Man. Gloucester 
remained passive, not daring to raise a finger in her 
defence for fear that suspicion of complicity should 
faU upon him. None the less his wife's doings were 
a fatal blow to his influence, and his power was at 
an end. Seeing this, says Hardyng — 

" He waxed then straunge eche day unto ye King, 

And into Wales he went of frowardness, 
And to the King had grete hevynesse " ; 

and the Beauforts reigned supreme over the young 
Henry. 

One other result sprang from the trial of the Duchess 
of Gloucester : in the following year Parliament 
enacted that in the eyes of the Law peeresses were to 
take rank with their husbands, and were therefore 
to be entitled to trial by their peers for the same 
offences that their husbands could claim such trial. 

Henry himself was chiefly preoccupied during these 
years with the educational schemes in which he was 
so deeply interested. For his first project he selected 
a spot near his own castle of Windsor that he might 
watch the growth of the infant institution with a solici- 
tous eye, and there in 1440 he founded the "King's 
College of our Lady of Eton beside Windsor," the 
charter being dated 11 October, 1440. ^ As originally 

1 Corresp. of Will. Bekynton (Rolls Ser.), ii. 279, 280; see also 
Heywood and Wright's Statutes of Eton College. 



126 HENRY VI [1440 

constituted this establishment was a very different 
one from that of the present day. The college was to 
consist of a provost, an " informer in grammar," or 
schoolmaster, ten fellows (priests), four clerks, six 
choristers, twenty-five poor and indigent scholars, and 
twenty-five poor and feeble old men, " to pray for the 
king's health during life and, when he left the Hght of 
earth, for his soul, and the souls of the illustrious prince 
Henry his father ... of the lady Katharine his 
consort . . of all his ancestors and of all the faithful 
departed." ^ The master in grammar was to teach the 
scholars " freely, without exaction of money or anything 
else." In 1443 the numbers were altered to seventy 
poor scholars, ten fellows, ten chaplains, ten clerks, 
sixteen choristers, only thirteen poor and infirm men, 
and a master and usher besides the provost.- The 
parish church of Eton was attached to the college, and 
improvements carried out in the interior. The founda- 
tion stone of a new church was laid by the king before 
Passion Sunday, 1441.^ Henry endowed his founda- 
tion principally from the English lands of the alien 
priories which had been confiscated by Henry V. 
These lands were scattered all over the country, and 
included the Leper Hospital of St. James at Westmin- 
ster. The college was also granted two annual fairs, 
to be held on the six working days following the Feast 
of the Assumption (August 15), and for three days after 
Ash Wednesday. Further, the Pope granted plenary 

^ Corres'p. of Will Bekynton (Rolls Ser.), ii. 281. 

2 Sir H. Maxwell Lyte, History of Eton College, 577. ^ Ibid., 12. 



1440] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 127 

indulgence to all pilgrims visiting Eton at the Feast of 
the Assumption,^ which besides increasing the company 
at the August fair brought the college many offerings. 

Wilham Waynflete, the Head Master of Winchester,^ 
presided over the organization of the new college. 
Henry Sever was the first provost, but resigned that 
post in 1442, and was succeeded by Waynflete.^ 

In 1448 Henry assigned to Eton its armorial bearings : 
" On a field sable three Hly-flowers argent, intending 
that our newly founded coUege, lasting for ages to come, 
whose perpetuity we wish to be signified by the stability 
of the sable colour, shall bring forth the brightest 
flowers redolent of every kind of knowledge. . . . To 
which also, that we may impart something of royal 
nobility, which may declare the work truly royal and 
illustrious, we have resolved that that portion of the 
arms which by royal right belong to us in the kingdoms 
of France and England be placed on the chief of the 
shield, per pale azure with a flower of the French, and 
gules with a leopard passant or." * 

Henry was much attached to his school at Eton. 
In after years he would tip the Eton scholars if he met 
them in the precincts of Windsor, telling them to be 
good boys ; but if he found any of them in the neighbour- 
hood of the Court he would send them away reproved, 
saying that it was not a suitable place for the young. ^ 

1 Sir H. Maxwell Lyte, History of Eton College, 9, 23, 26. 

- He afterwards became Bishop of Winchester and was the 
founder of Magdalen College, Oxford. 

2 Sir H. Maxwell Lyte, History of Eton College, 14, 18. 

« Ihid., 54. s Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Hearne), 296. 



128 HENRY VI [1440-6 

The other great foundation England owes to 
Henry VI is King's College, Cambridge. The in- 
tention of founding this college was formed by Henry 
in 1440, but the charter was not granted until February 
1441, This institution, at first named the college of 
St. Nicholas — Henry's birthday being on the feast 
of that saint — was modestly established in the first 
instance for twelve scholars and a rector, and Henry 
himself laid the first stone of the gatehouse on Passion 
Sunday, 1441. ^ In 1443, however, by fresh statutes 
the college was much enlarged. Under the new 
regulations provision was made for a provost, seventy 
fellows or scholars, ten secular chaplains, six clerks, 
and sixteen choristers ^ — the nucleus of the choir now 
so famous for the perfection of its singing. The name 
was also changed to " The College Royal of our Lady 
and St. Nicholas." On St. James's Day, 25 July, 
1446, Henry laid the foundation-stone of the new 
chapel,^ which was destined to grow into such a marvel 
of beauty under his successors. Henry VI did not 
live to see it completed, but the great design was his, 
together with that of other buildings for the college 
never carried out, and he endowed it with funds and 
granted it two quarries of Yorkshire limestone to 
provide the building material. The civil war, however, 
stopped for a time the progress of the chapel, and 
nothing was done under Edward IV, who took no 
interest in his rival's foundations. Henry VII granted 

^ A. Austen Leigh, King^s College, 4. 

2 Ibid., 5. =^ Ibid., 19. 



1438] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 129 

some funds for its continuance, and it was completed 
during the early years of the reign of Henry VIII. 

Henry VI endowed the college with manors all 
over the country, and for the early buildings granted 
leave for the materials of the old castle at Cambridge 
to be used. He desired the foundation to be connected 
with Eton, whose scholars were to be passed on to 
Cambridge when suflaciently advanced. The first 
provost of the college was William Millington. 

But Henry's efforts in the cause of education did 
not end with these two achievements. Finding in 
1438 that the universities of both Oxford and 
Cambridge, which he referred to as " the two luminaries 
from which the chief part of the fame and glory of 
his Crown and Kingdom was derived," ^ were decayed 
and scarce in students, he intimated to the Convocation 
of Canterbury that he wished them assisted from the 
revenues of the Church. 

Many grammar schools were founded in different 
parts of the country during his reign, including St. 
Anthony's School, London, in 1441. Colleges were 
founded at Newport, Salop, in 1442, and at Towcester 
in 1449 ; ^ Cardinal Kemp founded Wye College in 1447, 
and Archbishop Chicheley All Souls' College, Oxford 
in 1437. Magdalen College was founded by William 
Waynflete in 1456, and Lincoln College by Richard 
Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1427, both at Oxford.^ 

^ Corresp. of William Bekynton (Rolls Ser.), I. cxxxviii. 55. 
^ See A. F. Leach, English Schools at the Reformation, 323-4. 
2 For Queen Margaret's Foundation, see below, p. 148. 
E 



130 HENRY VI [1432-41 

In France also Henry's reign was beneficial to 
educational institutions. Although he can hardly 
have taken much personal interest in the beginning 
of the university of Caen, since he was only ten at 
the time of its foundation, yet it was founded by 
Bedford in the King's name in January 1432, just at 
the conclusion of his visit to France. The foundation 
was confirmed by a papal bull in 1437, but the uni- 
versity was not formally installed until 1439.^ The 
reason for its creation was that there was no university 
existing in all the dominions possessed by the English 
at that time in France, except that of Paris, which 
was notoriously French in feeling and was even given 
to conspiring against the English party. It was 
therefore thought desirable to provide a university 
where the youths of Northern France might be brought 
up under the eye of England as it were ; consequently 
great pains were taken to ke^p the institution loyally 
English in spirit. In 1442 it was reported, to Henry's 
satisfaction, that Caen University was attracting an 
" incredible influx of students in all branches of 
science." ^ 

At Bordeaux, too, Henry gave his sanction to the 
foundation of a university in 1441 ; but the chief credit 
for this achievement seems to have been due to Pey 
Berland, then Archbishop of Bordeaux. 

At home, while Henry was thus happily engaged 
with schemes after his own heart, the country was 

^ A. de Bourmont, La Fondation de Vuniversite de Caen, 29, 40, 43. 
'^ Corresp. of Will. Bekynton (Rolls Ser.), I. clix. 123. 



1441] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 131 

becoming more and more disturbed owing to the lack 
of a strong and decided government. In the West, the 
Earl of Devon and Sir William Bonville openly took 
up arms to decide which was the rightful claimant of 
the stewardship of the Duchy of Cornwall. Both 
produced a royal patent, so that it is possible that 
Henry, whose memory was deplorable, had, in a 
moment of aberration, granted the stewardship twice 
over, and thus unwittingly caused great trouble. In 
1441 the Council attempted to deal with these " grete 
riotes, disorders, dissencions and debates the which 
now late have growen and been betwix the said Erie 
of Devon and his servants and frends, and Sir William 
Bonevile knyght and his servants and frends, the which 
hath caused manslaughter and the Kings pees gretly 
troubled and broken, to the greet inquietnesse of his 
shires of Cornewaill and of Devon and also of other 
places, to the uneaise not oonly of theim and theirs 
but also of his subjitz dwellyng therinne." ^ The two 
claimants were charged to bring their patents for 
examination, and meanwhile to allow " an indifferent 
man " to occupy the office. Little good, however, 
seems to have been done, for in 1451 the feud broke 
out again, and continued to burst forth at intervals 
whenever occasion offered. 

In 1442 and 1443 riots occurred in Wales, and the 

Council ordered " that for as moche as that a monk 

in Wales, that is other wyle in North Wales and other 

wyle in South Wales, and telleth cronicles at Commor- 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, v. 173. 



132 HENRY VI [1443 

thees and other gaderings, to the mocion of the people, 
that it be aspied prively wher that he is and that he 
be taken." ^ 

At York also in 1443 there were dissensions between 
the Mayor and Sheriffs and the Abbot of St. Mary's. 
Besides this the men of Yorkshire refused to pay their 
dues to Archbishop Kemp, and in 1443 riots were 
actually stirred up against the Archbishop by the 
Earl of Northumberland. Kemp complained that 
" diverses and many persones in grete multitude and 
in rioteuse wyse have comen to certain of his places 
and have throwen downe som of his houses, and have 
broken downe by grete spaces the pales of divers of 
his parkes, and have broken downe divers water and 
wynd melles, and have hurted and fered divers of his 
servantz, and continuyng in their said riot and evel 
wille, as he sayth that he is enfourmed, thei dispose 
them to come to his manoir of Southewel and hurte it. 
And therfor he besecheth the Kyng that it wol lyke 
his hieghnesse to ordain remedie." ^ The Earl of 
Northumberland was commanded by the Council to 
make reparation. 

The town of Norwich had been for some time in a 
disturbed condition. The franchise of the town had 
been suspended and the Mayor removed from office 
in 1437, and in 1442 it was again thought necessary 
to deprive the town of its liberties. 

All over the country there were small disturbances, 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, v. 233. 
2 Ibid., 268-9. 



1442] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 133 

and even in London the " getters of the Inns of Court " 
and the citizens had a " great debate by night time " ^ 
in Fleet Street, an occurrence which does not seem to 
have been uncommon. 

The majority of these disturbances, as has been seen, 
were headed by some person of importance, and it 
was probably because of this that so little was done 
efficiently to check them, for it must be remembered 
that Parliament in the fifteenth century almost ex- 
clusively represented the landed interest. The mem- 
bers of the House of Commons were the " knights 
of the shires " and members for boroughs, often 
themselves lords of manors or wealthy merchants, 
and elected by men of substance ; so that it could 
hardly be expected that they would wish to make 
themselves unpleasant to the nobility, in many cases 
their overlords, by putting too strict a check upon 
their doings. 

The King at this time was, as usual, in pecuniary 
difficulties, and in 1442 the Commons again besought 
that the revenues of the Duchies of Lancaster and 
Cornwall should be used to satisfy the King's creditors, 
" in eschuyng of thair grete murmour, clamour and 
continuell importable chargez," ^ and also begged that 
in future ready money should be paid for the expenses 
of the household. 

This same Parliament took measures towards the 
strengthening of the navy, which was then small and 

^ Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 154. 
2 Rolls of Parliament, v. 62. 



134 HENRY VI [1442 

neglected. In 1423 " certain great ships " had 
actually been put up for sale at Southampton; 
but as it was specially ordered that the Mayors of 
London, Bristol, Hull, Lynn, Yarmouth and Plymouth 
should be notified, it was evidently hoped that these 
ports would purchase them for the public service. No 
one was allowed to buy them who was not at least 
the subject of an ally of England. The Parliament 
of 1442 enacted that there should be prepared for 
service in 1442 and 1443 eight " great ships," viz. the 
GrAce Dieu, George, Tritiity, Thomas, Nicholas of the 
Tower, Katherine of Burtons, " the Spanish ship of 
Lord Poins " and a ship belonging to Sir Philip 
Courtenay. There were also to be eight barges, the 
Mangeleke, Marie, Trinity, Valentine, and Slugge, a 
sixth at Falmouth, and two belonging to Harry 
Russell and Sir Philip Courtenay. These were to be 
attendant on the " great ships," and were each to be 
accompanied by a balinger.^ There were also to be 
four " spynes." ^ 

The Grhce Dieu was an unlucky ship, for shortly 
before this she had been damaged by fire, and later, 
in 1459, when she would have been carried off to 
Calais, she was found to be " broke in the bottom." 

This list, however, does not represent the entire 
number of ships available at the time, for the exchequer 
accounts of the same year give the names of ten 

1 A balinger was a small sailing vessel, but usually larger than 
a " barge." 

2 Pinnaces. 



1442] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 135 

" great ships," four mentioned in the parHamen- 
tary list, and in addition the Holy Ghost, Little 
Trinity} Rodecogge, Philip, John and Galley. Six 
carracks ^ are also mentioned : Marie of Hampton, 
Marie of Sandwich, Marie of Hull, Peter, Paul and 
Andrew, the last of which was, however, " submersed 
in the sea." The two balingers mentioned, the Rose 
and the Gabriel of Harfleur, were both reported to be 
sunk. At an earlier date in the reign there are men- 
tioned, besides the Edward of Fowey, the Fowler and 
the barge Little John.^ 

This little navy, however, does not seem to have 
effected much towards the safeguarding of the sea 
until the command was taken over by the Earl of 
Warwick in 1458. 

Another important question which came to the fore 
during these years was the subject of the King's 
marriage. As early as 1438 it had been proposed 
that Henry should marry a daughter of the then 
newly elected Emperor Albert II. In 1438-9 there 
was some idea of his marrying a daughter of Charles 
of France,* but this came to nothing. Again in 1442 
one of the daughters of the Count of Armagnac was 
proposed as a suitable bride, ^ Henry, who was really 
anxious to fulfil the wishes of his subjects and marry, 
in May 1442 commissioned Sir Robert Roos and 

^ This probably corresponded to the Trinity mentioned among the 
barges in the parliamentary list. 

2 A large ship originally of Genoese or Spanish type, 

3 Exch. Q. R. Accts., U, H, ¥. f f, ff 

* Rymer's Foedera, x. 727. ^ JUd., xi. 7, 



136 HENRY VI [1442 

Thomas Bekyngton to conduct negotiations and to 
instruct a painter named Hans to execute faithful 
portraits of the three ladies that the King might make 
his choice. The artist was to " portraie the iij dough- 
ters in their kerttelles simple, and their visages, lyk 
as ye see their stature and their beaulte and color of 
skynne and their countenaunces, with almaner of 
fetures ; and that one be delivered in al haste with 
the said portratur to bringe it unto the Kinge, and 
he t'appointe and signe which hym lyketh." ^ But it 
so happened that the Count of Armagnac's decision on 
the subject was hampered by the fact that the army 
of Charles VII was hovering on his borders, and he 
therefore dared not at that moment pledge himself 
to an alliance with the King of England, lest the 
French army should be let loose upon him. The 
EngUsh Ambassadors, not understanding the awkward- 
ness of his position, took offence at his evasions, and 
the project was dropped. This marriage was very 
much favoured by Gloucester, and was said to have 
been finally " disallowed and put by " through the 
influence of Suffolk, an incident which " kindled a 
new brand of burning envy " ^ between them. 

Doubtless the House of York might have had less 
trouble in realizing their ambition had either of these 
marriages taken place. 

Henry now became attracted by the fame of the 
young Margaret, daughter of Rene of Anjou, who, 

^ Corresp. of Will. Bekynton (Rolls Ser.), ii. 184. 
^ Fabyan's Chronicle, 616. 



1443-4] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 137 

although aged only about fifteen was already renowned 
throughout France for her beauty and wit. Appar- 
ently the same method was employed as before, for 
Henry is said to have become deeply enamoured of 
her portrait. Certainly he displayed a sincere affection 
for her during the remainder of his life. The real 
instigator of the match was Cardinal Beaufort. This 
astute prelate, realizing Henry's weakness, saw that 
he needed a partner of some decision of character and 
intellect, but hoped at the same time that Margaret's 
youth and inexperience would bring her easily under 
his own influence, and thus make his ascendancy over 
the King doubly sure. At all events he did succeed 
in establishing a firm friendship between Margaret 
and the House of Beaufort. But besides this, both 
Henry and the Cardinal hoped that this marriage 
would conduce to peace, because Margaret was the 
niece of Charles of France, and with this view it is 
said to have been originally suggested by the Duke 
of Orleans. Gloucester and his party, of course, for 
all these reasons were much opposed to it, their hopes 
having been fixed on the Armagnac alliance. 

The story of Suffolk's romantic attachment to the 
young Princess and his consequent determination to 
procure for her this exalted marriage seems improbable, 
considering that he was a comfortably married man of 
over fifty years of age at the time — an old man in those 
days — while Margaret was about fifteen. 

The young and spirited Margaret of Anjou, who was 
born in 1429, was, through her mother Isabella of 



138 HENRY VI [1444 

Lorraine, a direct descendant of Charles the Great. 
Her father, Rene of Anjou, who was titular King of 
Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem, Count of Provence, and 
Duke of Bar and Lorraine, in spite of his numerous 
titles, in reality possessed very little territory : he 
kept his Court at Nancy in Lorraine. A true Proven9al, 
poet, artist and musician, he was beloved by the people 
of his southern province, but rather despised by the 
rough and warlike nobles of his time, who considered 
his accomplishments effeminate and his indifference to 
his worldly fortune unworthy. This bride, therefore, 
although she might be highly gifted intellectually, was 
not likely to bring her husband a rich dowry. 

In 1444 Suffolk was sent to Nancy to negotiate the 
marriage and at the same time to endeavour to obtain 
satisfactory terms of peace. Rene was willing enough 
that his daughter should marry Henry, but he con- 
sidered it inconsistent with his honour to give her to 
the King of England while that monarch was in pos- 
session of Maine and Anjou, Rene's hereditary do- 
mains. He therefore at the last moment demanded 
their restoration to the French as a condition of the 
marriage, and was naturally supported in this by 
Charles. Suffolk had by this time so far committed 
his master to the marriage that it would have been 
difficult for him to repudiate it, and he therefore 
agreed to these remarkable terms, which were destined 
to hasten his own downfall, in spite of the fact that 
he was armed with an indemnity from Parliament for 
anything that might be involved in his mission. The 



1445] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 139 

transaction, however, remained a secret between him 
and Henry for as long as possible. Thus Henry's 
ill-omened bride was bought with two provinces, and 
came to her husband without any dowry except her 
father's purely formal claims to Aragon, Majorca and 
Minorca. 

In February 1445, a truce for two years having been 
concluded, Suffolk, as proxy for the King, was married 
to Margaret at Nancy with great festivities, after 
which the young Queen set out for England under the 
protection of Suffolk and his wife, parting with many 
tears from her family, by whom she was deeply beloved. 
At Poissy, on 18 March, occurred her first meeting 
with Richard of York,^ who received her there on the 
English frontier, little foreseeing the very different cir- 
cumstances under which they were destined to meet 
in after years. Between Mantes and Harfleur Margaret 
distributed fourteen pairs of shoes and other things to 
poor women,^ but upon reaching Rouen she found 
herself so short of means that she was obliged to 
pledge certain vessels of " mock silver " to the Duchess 
of Somerset. Henry meanwhile, no better off, was 
harrying Parliament for a grant of funds to defray 
the expenses of his marriage, borrowing horses from 
the Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds, and pledging his 
jewels and plate to provide for his Queen's coronation. 
On 8 April, Margaret embarked at Harfleur in the 

^ Stevenson, Letters and Papers of Reign of Henry VI (Rolls Ser.), 
i. 448. 

2 Ibid., i. 449. 



140 HENRY VI [1445 

Cocke Johne of Cherbourg/ and landed next day at 
Porchester so much overcome by the passage that 
Suffolk was obliged to carry her ashore. She rested 
that night at a convent in Portsmouth,^ and was 
conveyed next day by boat to Southampton, en- 
livened on the way by the performances of seven 
foreign trumpeters. Upon reaching the convent at 
Southampton, where she was to lodge,^ she became ill. 
Henry waited anxiously at Southwick for her recovery. 
" Oure moost dere and best beloved wyf the Quene," 
he wrote from there to the Lord Chancellor on 16 April, 
" is yet seke of the labour and indisposicion of the sea, 
by occasion of which the pokkes been broken out upon 
hir, for which cause we may not in oure own personne 
holde the feste of Saint George at oure castel of 
Wyndesore." * It has been assumed from this letter 
that Margaret's malady was smallpox, but this is 
clearly impossible, seeing that barely a fortnight 
elapsed between her landing in England and her 
marriage to the King, which ceremony would not have 
been permitted to take place while there was fear of 
infection of any kind. Moreover, during this interval 
she was able to receive a " tyre-maker " to prepare 

^ Stevenson, Letter and Papers of Reign of Henry VI (Rolls Ser.), 
i. 451. 

* The only recorded " convent " in Portsmouth is " God's 
House" for the reUef of the poor, see V.C.H., " Hants," ii. 206. 

^ This would probably be the Hospital of St. Julian, the most 
important religious house in Southampton, where Richard of 
Cambridge, father of the Duke of York, was buried. V.C.H., 
"Hants," ii. 203. 

* Nicholas, Proc. and Ord. of the Privy Council, VI. xvi. 



1445] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 141 

her wedding garments ; neither can we suppose, 
judging by the enthusiastic reception accorded a little 
later to her beauty, that her complexion long suffered 
from the pockmarks. By 23 April she was able to 
travel to Titchfield Abbey, nine miles away, and was 
there quietly married to Henry, the ceremony being 
performed by Aiscough, Bishop of Salisbury, Henry's 
confessor, Henry was then twenty-three, and his 
bride just sixteen. These nuptials, according to 
Capgrave, " everyone thought pleasing to God and 
the Kingdom because peace and abundant fruits came 
with them " — an excessively rose-coloured view of the 
situation which caused a later annotator of his chronicle 
to remark in the margin, with good reason, " Compilator 
adulavit." ^ On the occasion of her marriage at 
Titchfield Margaret received the somewhat novel 
wedding-present of a lion : an embarrassing gift which 
was deposited in the Tower.^ About a month elapsed 
before Henry and Margaret appeared in London, the 
interval doubtless being spent in making each other's 
acquaintance. One would like to have known Mar- 
garet's impressions of her husband ; apparently they 
were not unpleasing, for Henry must have been a 
lovable man, and she seems to have become genuinely 
attached to him, judging by the care with which she 
looked after him. 

The King and Queen made their state entry into 

^ Capgrave, Liber de illustribus Henricis (Rolls Ser.), 166, n. • 
^ Stevenson, Letters and Papers of Reign of Henry VI (Rolls Ser.), 
. 450. 



142 HENRY VI [1445 

London on 28 May, Margaret's beauty creating great 
enthusiasm among the Londoners, who wore daisies 
in their hats in her honour. As yet the terms of the 
marriage settlement had not leaked out, and the 
people were ready enough to welcome her, although 
Parliament was sullen and suspicious. On 30 May the 
new Queen was crowned with great splendour at 
Westminster Abbey. 

Margaret, although only sixteen, quickly made her 
influence felt in English politics. Her energetic and 
ambitious nature soon gained ascendancy over the 
docile Henry, whom her charms had captivated from 
the first. She had not the wisdom to avoid committing 
herself to party rivalry, and her influence was naturally 
exerted on the side of the Beauforts, for the old Car- 
dinal had promoted her marriage and was her sincere 
friend. As appears from his will, Margaret must 
have visited him at his manor of Waltham, for he 
bequeathed to her the " crimson bed, with the cloth 
of gold of Damascus, which hung in her chamber in 
my mansion of Waltham, in which my said lady lay 
when she was at the said manor." ^ Suffolk also was 
her benefactor and firm friend, whereas Gloucester 
had strenuously opposed her marriage, which piqued 
her extremely, and for which she never forgave him. 
She saw early that the King appeared to do nothing 
of his own initiative, but was ruled by the advice of 
those about him, and hence she quickly fell into the 
habit of meddling with the governance of the kingdom. 
^ A bed with rich hangings was a very usual bequest in those days. 



1447] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 143 

Gloucester's downfall was not long in coming. The 
King, doubtless under Margaret's influence, ." began 
to give heavy and unpleasant occasions and quarrels 
against his uncle Gloucester," whom he had never 
loved overmuch, and to shun his presence, " furnishing 
himself with many armed men, as if he were a mortal 
enemy." ^ Probably also the three concerned, Henry, 
Margaret and Suffolk, felt apprehensive as to what 
course Gloucester would take when he learnt of the 
surrender of Maine, which could not be kept secret 
much longer. 

The crisis came in 1447. In February of that year 
Parliament was summoned at Bury St. Edmunds. A 
few days after the opening of the session Gloucester 
arrived, "as an innocent lamb," but with too large 
a retinue to be wise. It was rumoured that he came 
to beg for an amelioration of his wife's sentence, but 
evidently his enemies had laid their plans beforehand. 
Reaching Bury St. Edmunds about eleven in the 
morning of 18 February, in " a fervent coolde weder 
and a bytynge," he was met on the outskirts of the 
town by the King's messengers, who informed him 
that he need not present himself to the King, but 
might go to his own lodgings and dine. This strange 
announcement, little short of an insult, would be 
enough to fill Gloucester with foreboding of disaster. 
He rode on through " Dede lane " — a circumstance 
afterwards remembered as of ill omen — and lodged at 

^ Chron. Ang. de regnis irium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), pt. 
iv. 33. 



144 HENRY VI [1447 

St. Salvator's without the north gate.^ Hardly had 
he finished dining when Buckingham, Dorset, Sahsbury 
and others entered and placed him under arrest, ap- 
parently upon a charge of treason, and his servants 
were removed. Gloucester remained at his lodging 
under guard, but the shock and humiliation were too 
much for him. When he found that Suffolk and Lord 
Say had so excited the King against him that he was 
not for the present to be allowed to answer the charges 
made against him, he " was in so great anguish of 
grief that the strength of all his members and of his 
inner spirit suddenly vanished," and " for three days 
there was in him neither sense nor motion." ^ On 23 
February it was announced that he had died of a 
paralytic stroke, which under the circumstances is 
quite likely to have been true. One chronicler circum- 
stantially gives the hour of his death as " sone appon 
iij on the belle at aftrenone." ^ His death, however, 
caused a tremendous sensation, and all sorts of rumours 
of foul play were spread abroad. Some affirmed that 
he was " stranguled " * ; " some said he was murdered 
bitwene two ffedirbeddes, and some said he was throst 
into the bowell with an bote brennyng spitte." ^ It 
may be worth noticing that his predecessor, the Duke 
of Gloucester, actually was smothered between feather- 

1 English Chronicle, Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 116-17. 
^ Chron. Aug. de regnis tmim regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), pt. 
iv. 33^. 

3 Eng. Chron. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 117. 

* Three books ofPolydore VergiVs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 73, 

^ Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 157. 



1447] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 145 

beds, and the last horrible fate was that attributed 
by legend (happily without good foundation) to 
Edward II, so that both these conjectures seem like 
mere suggestions of memory. Moreover, no wound 
was found upon Gloucester's body.^ On the whole 
it seems most probable that the more trustworthy 
chroniclers ^ who stated that he " died for sorrow " 
were right; to a man of such proud and choleric 
temper as he had habitually shown himself such 
treatment might well be enough to bring on a stroke 
of some sort. Gloucester was not a young man, and by 
the evidence of his own physician he had been in bad 
health for some years before his death. ^ Hardyng also 
affirms that — 

" Ofte afore he was in that sykenesae — 
In poynt of death and stode in sore distresse." 

It is certain that the Beaufort party were determined 
on Gloucester's downfall, but they would probably 
have contented themselves with imprisonment or 
exile. If he was assassinated the blame must rest on 
Suffolk, for certainly Henry would never have con- 
sented to it, and it is to be hoped that Margaret at 
the age of eighteen was not so bloodthirsty. As a 
matter of fact his death put his enemies in a bad 
case, for by his removal the Duke of York was left 

^ Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 157. 

* Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), iv. 
34 ; Eng. Chron. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 63 ; Whet- 
hamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 179. 

2 Michelet, Histoire de France, vii. 56. 
L 



146 HENRY VI [1447 

nearest heir to the throne : a most inconvenient and 
dangerous situation, destined to have fatal conse- 
quences. Evidently becoming aware of this danger, 
they lost no time in getting rid of York by appointing 
him in July 1447 to the Lieutenancy of Ireland for 
ten years. Nor did Gloucester's death make Suffolk's 
party more secure in popularity, for the Duke had 
been popular with the people in spite of his ill-judged 
policy and other faults, and they called him the " good 
Duke Humphrey," probably because of his affability, 
his handsome presence and his patronage of art and 
literature. He was the founder of the first public library 
at Oxford, now the Bodleian, and it is probable that his 
influence fostered in Henry VI that taste for education 
for which he was so conspicuous. Gloucester was buried 
on the south side of the Saints' Chapel in St. Albans 
Abbey, of which he was a benefactor. Five of his 
followers were " hanged and lette downe quicke " ^ as 
a warning, and then pardoned. His estates were given 
to Margaret. The people, convinced that he met his 
death by foul play, murmured against Suffolk, the 
Bishop of Salisbury and Lord Say, who were known 
to be high in favour with the King.^ A later chronicler 
even went so far as to say that after Gloucester's 
" shameful slaughter, good men forsook the Court." ^ 
Less than two months later, on 11 April, Gloucester 

^ Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (ed. Gairdner), 65. 
2 It is remarkable that these three men all met their death at 
the hands of the jjeople, on different occasions, three years later, 
a Three books ofPolydore Vergil's Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 73. 



1447] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 147 

was followed to the graye by his old enemy Cardinal 
Beaufort, who for forty-eight years had been a pillar 
of the House of Lancaster. This capable and ambitious 
prelate had since 1443 taken little public part in 
politics, but his influence had remained, and now the 
last check to the rash policy of Margaret and Suffolk 
was removed. He was possessed of enormous wealth, 
and had many times extricated Henry from his diffi- 
culties. Blakman relates that he left Henry £2000 in 
gold for his personal use, quite a large sum in those 
days, but the unworldly King, forgetful of his many 
debts, rejected the money, saying that he had received 
sufficient kindness from his great-uncle during his 
lifetime. The astonished executors then suggested 
that Henry should give it to his two foundations, 
Eton and King's College, which he accordingly did, 
for the good of the Cardinal's soul.^ 

Meanwhile England had learnt the news of the 
surrender of Maine, and the discontent was becoming 
dangerous. Suffolk, complaining of the accusations 
commonly circulated against him, demanded that he 
should be allowed to justify himself before the Council. 
His defence was accordingly heard by them on 25 May, 
1447, and his integrity declared vindicated, but his 
position was not in reality much bettered. It was 
unfortunate that the government should have been 
so much in his hands, for all the national grievances 
were laid up against him in the minds of the people, 
and it followed that, when the grudge grew too heavy, 
^ Blakman's Life of Henry VI (ed. Thos. Heame), 294. 



148 HENRY VI [1448 

the destruction of the hated minister meant a serious 
shock to the whole government of the country, and 
even brought discredit on the ruling dynasty itself. 

To add to their misdemeanours, Margaret and 
Suffolk had managed to obtain special privileges for the 
export of wool, a piece of flagrant self-interest which 
naturally alienated the merchants. In 1448 Suffolk 
received a further mark of favour in being made a duke. 
The young Queen Margaret, at the age of eighteen, 
was now left virtually at the head of affairs, for her 
husband was, as usual, absorbed in his studies and 
devotions. She cannot have been without sympathy 
for Henry's studious tastes, for she emulated him in 
1448 by founding the college of St. Margaret and 
St. Bernard at Cambridge, now known as Queens' 
College. 

The difficulties of England were increased in that 
year by the outbieak of border warfare between the 
Douglases and the Percys. The Enghsh had crossed 
the border and burnt Dunbar and Dumfries, while the 
Scots under Douglas fired Alnwick and Warkworth. 
Accordingly in September 1448 Henry set out on a 
royal progress to the North. He visited Stamford, 
Southwell, Beverley and Durham, returning to York 
in the middle of October. Skirmishes on the border 
continued, however, until Percy was severely defeated 
by the Douglases at the battle of the Sark in October 
1449. 

The year 1449 opened inauspiciously. The King's 
debts were such that the sergeant gentlemen and 



1449-50 CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 149 

yeomen of his household, and even the priests and 
clerks of his chapel, were driven to petition Parliament 
for their arrears of pay. The army was in the same 
state, which was running a foolish risk. In addition 
to this the war broke out again in France, and disaster 
after disaster befell the English arms in Normandy, 
for Suffolk had made no preparations whatever during 
the years of truce. Tardy reinforcements were raised 
and sent to the coast, but there they were kept wait- 
ing while funds were collected. At the beginning of 
January 1450, when Normandy was already almost 
lost, Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester, at last came down 
to Portsmouth with the soldiers' pay ; but they were 
in such an inflamed state of mind that "so it happid 
that with boistez langage and also for abrigging of 
their wagez he fil in variaunce with thaym, and thay 
fil on him and cruelli there kilde him." ^ This bishop 
had accompanied Suffolk on his embassy to Nancy, 
and had also been sent to France in 1448 to negotiate 
the final surrender of Lemans. 

An interesting ballad of this time bewails the state 
of England and the loss of her capable leaders, all the 
personages being referred to by their badges — 

" The Rote ^ is ded, the Swanne ^ is goone, 
The firy Cressett * hath lost his lyght, 
Therfore Inglond may make gret mone 
Were not the helpe of Godde almygt'. 

1 Eng. Chron. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 64. 

^ The tree root or Woodstock, borne by the Duke of Bedford. 

^ Gloucester. 

* Exeter, who died in 1447. His mother was sister of Henry IV, 



150 HENRY VI [1450 

The castelle ^ is woune where care begowne [began], 

The Portecolys ^ is leyde adowne, 
I-closid we have our welevette hatte.^ 

That keveryd us from mony stormys browne [brewen]. 
The White Lioun * is leyde to slepe 

Thorough the envy of the Ape ^ clogge ; 
And he is bounden that oure dore shuld kepe. 

That is Talbott oure goode dogge.'' 
The Fisshere ' hathe lost his hangulhooke, 

Gete theym agayne when it wolle be. 
Oure Mylle-saylle ^ wille not abowt. 

Hit hath so longe goone emptye. 
The Bere is bound that was so wild, 

Ffor he hath lost his ragged stafie.^ 
The Carte nathe ^o is spokeles. 

For the counseille that he gaflfe. 
The Lily ^^ is both faire and grene 

The Coundite ^^ rennyth not, as I wene, 

1 Rouen, lost in October 1449. 

2 Somerset, who capitulated at Rouen. ^ Cardinal Beaufort. 

* Norfolk, who had gone on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1447. 

^ Suffolk. So in another ballad, "Jack Napys with his clogge 
Hath tiede Talbot oure gentille dogge." 

* The badge of Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, was a sort of hunting 
dog, between a hound and a beagle, later known as a " talbot." 
Talbot remained as a hostage after the fall of Rouen. 

' Lord Fauconberg, brother of Salisbury, taken prisoner by the 
French at Pont de I'Arche. 

8 Robert, Lord Willoughby of Eresby, who surrendered at Paris 
in 1436. 

® The bear and ragged staff, the celebrated badge of Warwick. 
The old Earl died in 1439. 

^o Nathe = the hub of a wheel. The Duke of Buckingham, a 
nephew of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. He was Ambassador to 
France in 1446. 

^^ Thomas Daniel, a courtier, later made steward of the Duchy 
of Lancaster. 

12 The conduit represents John Norris, another courtier. The 
removal of Norris, Daniel and Trevilian (the Cornish chough) was 
petitioned for during Cade's Rebellion. 



1450] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 151 

The Comysshe Chowgh offt with his trayne 

Hath made oure Egulle '^ blynde. 
The White Harde ^ is put out of mynde, 

Because he woUe not to hem consent ; 
Therfore the Commyns saith is both trew and kynde 

Bothe in Southesex and in Kent. 
The Water-Bowge ^ and the Wyne-Botelle * 

With the Vetturlockes ^ cheyne bene fast. 
The Whete-yere ^ wolle theym susteyne 

As longe as he may endure and last. 
The Boore '' is gane into the west, 

That shold us helpe with shilde and spere ; 
The Fawkoun,* fleyth and hath no rest 

Tille he witte where to bigge [build] his nest." ^ 



Suffolk could no longer avert the storm. On 26 
January, 1450, a fortnight after the murder of Bishop 
Moleyns, Parliament petitioned for the Duke's im- 
peachment and he was committed to the Tower. The 
only important charge that could be brought against 



1 The King. 

2 Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, later a Yorkist, and married to 
Warwick's sister. (Arundel Castle is in Sussex.) 

3 The " water-budget " was two leathern buckets on a pole — arms 
of Lord Bourchier, husband of York's sister, afterwards Earl of 
Essex. 

* No name given. 

5 Prior of St. John's, Clerkenwell; Master of the Hospitallers 
in England, and ranked as first Baron of the Kingdom — Robert 
Botyll. 

" Henry Holand, Duke of Exeter, a Lancastrian in spite of his 
marriage with York's daughter. 

'' The boar, the Earl of Devon, Thomas Courtenay. 

^ The falcon, the Duise of York, absent in Ireland as Lord- 
Lieutenant. 

'•• Wright, Political Poems and Songs (Rolls Ser.), ii. 221. 



152 HENRY VI [1450 

him was his unauthorized promise of the evacuation 
of Maine. For the rest he was accused of purposing 
to invade England and place his son John on the 
throne, of holding treasonable relations with the Duke 
of Orleans — whose keeper he had been at one time — 
of revealing state secrets to the French, and such 
charges. The King, hoping to protect his minister, 
ordered the case to be " respited," but Parliament, 
nothing daunted, brought in a Bill of Attainder on 
9 March. This contained fresh charges, accusing the 
Duke of encouraging the King to make prodigal grants, 
of weakening the King's power in Guienne and alienat- 
ing Armagnac, of giving away offices to his friends 
without leave of the Council, of appropriating and 
wasting the country's funds and those granted for the 
guardianship of the sea, and other offences. Suffolk 
threw himself upon the King's mercy, and Henry, ever 
faithful to his friends even when disastrous to himself, 
and probably in this case backed up by Margaret, in 
order to save Suffolk's life banished him for five years. 
He was discharged on 19 March, but in the end even 
the King could not save him. The populace of London, 
infuriated at the mildness of the sentence, surrounded 
his house at St. Giles, Holborn, to the number of 
2000, and maltreated his horse and servants. Suffolk, 
however, succeeded in escaping by another way and 
fled into his own county. On 30 April he set sail from 
Ipswich to go to France, but off the coast of Kent 
he was intercepted by the ship Nicholas of the 
Tower — so little control had the Government even 



1450] CHARACTER OF HENRY VI 153 

over the navy — and being hailed on board as a traitor, 
was kept there until 2 May. 

" Also he asked the name of the ship," wrote William 
Lorimer to John Paston three days later, " and when 
he knew it he remembered Stacy that said if he might 
escape the danger of the Tower he should be safe ; and 
then his heart failed him, for he thought he was 
deceived, and in the sight of all his men he was drawn 
out of the great ship in to the boat . . . and one 
of the lewdest of the ship bade him lay down his head, 
and he should be fair fared with and die on a sword ; 
and took a rusty sword and smote off his head within 
half a dozen strokes, and took away his gown of russet 
and his doublet of velvet mailed, and laid his body on 
the sands of Dover." ^ 

The country as a whole rejoiced at his death and 
did not hide their feelings. It was for Suffolk that 
the nickname of " Jackanapes " was first invented, 
and his death was commemorated in various ballads, 
one of which commenced — 

" In the monethe of May, when gresse groweth grene 

Flagrant - in her floures, with swete savour, 
Jac Napes wolde on the see a maryner to ben, 

With his cloge and his cheyn, to seke more tresour. 
Suyche a payn prikkede hym he asked a confession : 

Nicholas said, ' I am redi thi confessour to be ' ; 
He was so holden so that he ne passede that hour. 

For Jac Napes soule Placebo and Dirige." ^ 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 125, let. 93. 

2 Fragrant ( ?) 

3 Wright, Political Poems and Songs (Rolls Ser.), ii, 232. 



154 HENRY VI [1450 

Parliament met at Westminster in April of that 
year, but such was the disturbed state of London 
that it was thought best to remove the session to 
Leicester. The country was on the verge of an outbreak, 
and it was not long delayed. 



CHAPTER V 
1435-1453 : the loss of France 

Charles VII and the Duke of Burgundy, having 
sung a Te Deum together in the church of St. Vaast in 
Arras, and Charles, as a compHment to the Duke, 
having given the name of PhiHp to the son born to 
him at that time, preparations for united war against 
England were begun. The position of Charles was 
now most favourable. Burgundy, with all his domains 
scattered down the eastern borders of France, was 
on his side ; the Duke of Brittany, though not an ally 
on whom much reliance could be placed, was likely 
to be kept loyal to France by his brother, the Constable 
de Richemont, while the people of Brittany were 
openly French in sympathy, and supplied Charles 
with bodies of men who did him great service. More- 
over the people of Normandy, in spite of their strong 
English garrisons, were now with him in spirit, and large 
numbers of them fled over the border into Brittany 
that they might openly support his cause. 

In England the Parliament summoned in the 
autumn of 1435, roused to a blind fury by the defection 
of Burgundy, voted large sums towards the continuance 
of the war, and in April 1436 the young Duke of York 
was appointed to the Lieutenancy of France in the 

155 



156 HENRY VI [1436 

place of Bedford. He was only twenty-four at the 
time, and on account of his youth, says a chronicler, 
was not encouraged to fight,i but he nevertheless 
displayed considerable ability. He was accompanied 
to France by his brother-in-law and faithful friend the 
new Earl of Salisbury — that Richard Neville who had 
married the daughter and heiress of the Salisbury who 
was killed before Orleans. The veteran Talbot also 
remained in the field, together with such well-seasoned 
captains as Lord Hungerford, John Fastolf, Matthew 
Gough and Thomas Kyriel. Humphrey, Duke of 
Gloucester was appointed Captain of Calais, a point 
now likely to be threatened by Burgundy, whose 
Flemish lands lay within a stone's throw of it. 

During the winter the French had not been idle. 
A raid into Normandy found the English so unprepared 
that the invaders, aided by the peasantry, actually 
succeeded — though only temporarily — in capturing 
Dieppe, Fecamp and Harfleur. A number of towns 
in the neighbourhood of Paris also fell into their hands, 
but the overrash band which captured St. Denis 
was quickly expelled by the English, 

Early in 1436 Charles began his advance in earnest, 
and the army, under the command of Richemont, 
marched on Paris. Already the city was almost cut 
off ; Pontoise, Vincennes, Corbeil, St. Germain en Laye 
and other towns had fallen into the hands of the 
French, and the Parisians were approaching a condi- 
tion of famine owing to the vicinity having been so 

^ Chron. Aug. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), 
pt. iv. 18. 



1436] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 157 

long infested by the enemy. The Governor for the 
English was Louis de Luxembourg, who was loyal 
enough but very unpopular, as were also his assistants, 
the notorious Cauchon, now Bishop of Lisieux, and 
the Bishops of Paris and Meaux, He was also sup- 
ported by Lord Willoughby and some English troops. 
Such, however, was the state of disaffection that he 
could hardly trust the inhabitants to assist in the 
defence. On 10 April Richemont took St. Denis, 
whereupon a mutiny broke out in Paris. On the 
13th the Parisians rose under the leadership of one 
Lailler, Councillor of the Chamber of Accounts, 
barricaded the streets and poured missiles upon the 
English from the windows of the houses. Some of 
the latter made a stand in the Halles and others made 
for the Porte St. Denis, but finally those that were 
left were obliged to take refuge in the Bastille. Mean- 
while Richemont entered the city without difficulty 
by the Porte St. Jacques, and was escorted to Notre 
Dame by a joyous crowd. After four days Willoughby 
and his troops in the Bastille were allowed to retire 
to Rouen, and they marched out amid the hoots of 
the Parisians. Thus was Paris finally lost to the 
English, after being in their possession for seventeen 
years. 

In the summer of 1436 Burgundy, finding his 
Flemish provinces more ready than usual to give him 
help owing to their irritation at the English outrages 
against their merchants in London, led the troops 
thus provided against Calais, which was the nearest 
English stronghold of importance. Philip, however, 



158 HENRY VI [1436 

was not strong enough to reduce such a place, and the 
siege did not prosper. The fleet which was to co- 
operate with his army was delayed; when it at last 
arrived vessels were sunk in the mouth of the harbour, 
but were found to be in the wrong place and proved 
quite ineffectual for blockading the town. Finally, 
finding the coast dangerous, the ships sailed away 
altogether. 1 At that the Flemish troops, who had 
been tiresome all along, mutinied and announced their 
intention of going home, so that at the end of July 
Philip was obliged ignominiously to abandon the 
siege and retreat. By this time reinforcements had 
been raised in England, where there had been some 
alarm, but not enough to induce much haste. Glou- 
cester, who does not seem to have allowed his duties 
as Captain of Calais to weigh very heavily upon him, 
landed in France with an army of 8000 men shortly 
after Philip had retired. Finding his enemy flown 
he advanced into West Flanders, burnt ' Poperinghe ' 
and Bailleul, but " little did to counte a manly man," ^ 
and soon returned to England. Charles, exhausted 
by the effort of taking Paris, made no move for the 
defence of his ally, while Burgundy " sore sycke was 
many a day for sorowe and shame." 

During the winter of 14-36-7 York began to dis- 
tinguish himself, making the recapture of the towns 
round Paris his objective. His principal feat was 
the regaining of Pontoise in February, when, owing to 
a hard frost, the surrounding water defences were 

^ Jehan de Waurin, Croniques (Rolls Ser.), iv. 176-8. 
2 Hardyng's Chronicle, 396. 



1437] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 159 

turned to the advantage of the besiegers. Other 
towns also fell before his arms, but in the spring of 
1437, apparently at his own request, he was recalled 
to England. His appointment had only been for a 
year, but it seems strange that it should not have 
been continued, since he was so successful in his office. 
Possibly it was considered that he attempted too 
much for a young and inexperienced commander. 
He was replaced in July by the old Earl of Warwick, 
tutor to the King, who was now considered to be 
of age. This venerable warrior was not, however, 
destined to meet with much success. 

In the autumn of 1437 Charles was at last pre- 
vailed upon to move. This time he actually led his 
army in person, and advanced to raise the siege of 
Montereau. This was accomplished on 10 October, 
and a month later, on 12 November, Charles made 
his triumphal entry into Paris, which he had not 
ventured to visit until then. There was the usual 
display of pageantry of a rehgious character. The 
King was accompanied by the seven cardinal virtues 
and the seven deadly sins, and was met by many 
sacred tableaux, of which the " acting was good and 
very affecting." ^ By the Chatelet gate he encoun- 
tered the Last Judgment, with St. Michael in the 
centre weighing souls. The people sang carols as 
lustily as they were able. Charles however, only 
stayed in Paris three weeks, as the English were 
too near to be pleasant, and he then returned to 
the safe neighbourhood of the Loire. 

1 Chron. of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, L. Douet d'Arcq., v. 303. 



160 HENRY VI [1437-9 

A new English commander made his appearance 
this year in the person of John Beaufort, Earl of 
Somerset, who up to this time had been a prisoner 
in France since the battle of Beauge in 1421. This 
nephew of the Cardinal was now exchanged for the 
Count of Eu. His return, however, brought no 
particular advantage to the English arms, for none of 
the Beauforts were distinguished for their military 
capacity. 

Little was done during 1438 owing to general dis- 
tress, the famine in France being worse than usual. 
Wolves howled round Paris and grew so bold that 
they entered and devoured people in the streets. 
Charles made an expedition into Gascony, took the 
town of Tartas and advanced towards Bordeaux. 
The gallant defence of the Chateau de la Reole, how- 
ever, detained him until winter set in, when the 
extreme cold forced him to retreat. Next year, 1439, 
John, Earl of Huntingdon, who had been appointed 
Lieutenant of Aquitaine, landed with a force of 2000 
men, swept off the remnants of Charles's expedition, 
and made the country round Bordeaux once more 
secure. 

During this winter a desire for peace had again 
made itself felt, fostered at home by the Beauforts, 
and arrangements began to be made for a conference 
in January 1439. The Ambassadors met in June at a 
spot between Calais and Gravelines. The English 
envoys. Cardinal Beaufort, the Duke of Norfolk and 
the Earl of Oxford, proposed to keep Calais, Normandy, 
Guienne and Maine, and offered to acknowledge 



1439] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 161 

Charles as King of France if Henry might use the 
title also. This quaint arrangement was hardly likely 
to commend itself to the French, who were in a far 
stronger position than at the time of the proposals 
of Arras. On their side they refused to give up Maine, 
and insisted that Henry should do homage for the 
lands he was permitted to keep. Negotiations, how- 
ever, dragged on until August. The Ambassadors do 
not appear to have spent all their time on business, 
for we read that they devoured many sweetmeats and 
pears, and it is further related that the Archbishop 
of Rheims hurt his foot playing at ball.^ In the end 
the young Henry was persuaded by Gloucester, who 
still had considerable influence over him, to reject the 
French terms once more, and nothing was effected 
by the conference except a private truce for three 
years between England and Burgundy. 

Charles, meanwhile taking advantage of the pause 
in the military operations, had begun to inaugurate 
the reforms in the organization of his army which 
were so greatly needed. Possibly this awakening to 
activity was caused by the influence of Burgundy, 
but more probably by that of his own vigorous and 
patriotic captains, such as Charles of Anjou, the 
Bastard of Orleans, Richemont, and Pierre de Breze, 
who since the fall of La Tremouille had been able to 
gain the ear of the King and were gradually arousing 
him to sustained effort. In November 1439 the 
Estates General at Orleans re-enacted an old ordinance 
fixing the permanent cantonments of the troops, and 

^ Nicholas, Proc. and Or A. of the Privy Council, Chron. Cat. xix., etc. 
M 



1G2 HENRY VI [1439 

also voted 1,200,000 livres a year for the support of 
the army, thus making a regular standing army 
possible for the first time. Charles, however, had 
little time at the moment for carrying out reforms, 
for the war had to be continued when the negotiations 
of 1439 failed, and he was further distracted by a 
conspiracy of his nobles, headed by the Dukes of 
Bourbon and Alengon and the Comte de Vendome, 
with the connivance of the Dauphin Louis, which 
threatened to plunge him into civil war. He was 
therefore for the present obliged to bide his time. 
Immediately after the envoys dispersed he took 
Meaux. 

While the conference had been going on, England 
had sustained another loss in the death of the old 
Earl of Warwick, Richard Beauchamp, in April 1439 — 
a seasoned and capable warrior, though lacking in 
brilliance. 

" He stode in grace of his commendacion 
Emonge all folke unto the day he died." ^ 

His place was taken by the Duke of York, who in 
the following year was appointed Lieutenant-General 
in Normandy and France, with " like and sembable 
power as my Lord of Bedford had." ^ 

In 1440 the decision was made to release the Duke 
of Orleans, who had been languishing as a prisoner 
in England for the last twenty-five years — since the 

1 Hardyng's Chronicle, 396. 

2 Stevenson, Letters and Papers of Reign of Henry VI (Rolls 
Ser.), ii. 586. 






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1440] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 163 

battle of Agincourt. Henry V had left strict injunc- 
tions that he should not be released during the minority 
of Henry VI, but it was now thought that a suitable 
moment had come, especially as the Duke of Burgundy 
was urgent for his liberation. Charles being at the 
moment distracted by the " praguerie " — the revolt 
of his disaffected nobles — it was privately hoped in 
England that the Duke of Orleans would join the 
insurgents and cause Charles so much embarrassment 
that he would be glad to conclude peace with the 
English. The ransom of the Duke was fixed at 
40,000 nobles ^ on liberation, and 80,000 marks ^ to 
be paid within six months after his release unless 
peace was made as a result of his mediation. Glou- 
cester, who had no wish for peace, was entirely opposed 
to his liberation, but for once his protest was in vain. 
Orleans took an oath on the sacrament, in the presence 
of all the Lords of the Council except Gloucester, who 
pointedly absented himself, not to bear arms against 
England, and on 3 November was given his safe 
conduct. He was received with open arms by Bur- 
gundy, who paid part of his ransom and gave him his 
niece in marriage. Charles was not overpleased at 
this ostentatious friendship between two ancient 
enemies, but far from being intimidated, only roused 
himself to fresh efforts towards the strengthening of 
his position. The praguerie was put down, and the 
release of Orleans was quite without the beneficial 
results hoped for by the English. In 1441 Charles 
found himself strong enough to enforce order within 
1 A noble = 6s. Sd. 2 ^ mark = 135. 4c?. 



164 HENRY VI [1441-2 

his domains. He conducted a punitive expedition 
against the " 6corcheurs " who tormented the country, 
and succeeded in clearing Champagne of these dreaded 
brigands. Meanwhile steady advance was made by 
the French in lle-de-France. The last struggle in 
that district concentrated round Pontoise. The French 
laid vigorous siege to the town, but the defence was 
long and courageous under the captaincy of Lord 
Chfford. Talbot reheved it in June, but the French 
returned. Three times more they were driven back, 
once by York and twice by Talbot, and the struggle 
was fought out backwards and forwards across the 
Seine and the Oise; but at last the French stormed 
the town. They had built a bastille before it from 
which the English were unable to dislodge them, and 
on 16 September two furious assaults, lasting for five 
hours, won the town. With the fall of Pontoise the 
English occupation of tle-de-France was at an end. 
Such was the result of the first six years of fighting 
after the death of Bedford. 

The next three years were occupied with desultory 
warfare of varying success. In 1442, by a rapid 
incursion into Normandy, Dieppe was surprised when 
the English were in their beds and once more taken 
by the French. Somerset occupied himself in making 
a " chivalrous promenade " through Normandy and 
Anjou, while Charles in person was harrying Gascony 
and making considerable inroads into Guienne. Inci- 
dentally the Count of Armagnac was placed in an 
embarrassing position by this expedition, for at that 
time Henry VI was considering the question of a 



1442-3] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 165 

marriage with one of his daughters, and the poor 
Count, with Charles and his army on his very borders, 
dared not offend him by returning friendly answers 
to the English envoys. Hence the marriage fell 
through. Had Charles chosen any other time for 
invading Gascony Henry's future might have been 
less stormy. 

Bordeaux was put in a state of defence by the gallant 
Archbishop Pey Berland, who followed up this action 
by going to London in person to beg assistance. 

It now became pressing for England to send relief 
to Guienne, but York also was clamouring for rein- 
forcements, all the efforts of Talbot (now Earl of 
Shrewsbury) being insufficient to recover Dieppe. 
In the limited state of the English resources the 
choice was rather a difficult one. Gloucester's in- 
fluence at this time was a good deal impaired by the 
disgrace into which his wife had fallen for treason- 
able practices ; Cardinal Beaufort, having consequently 
the ascendancy, succeeded in getting his nephew 
Somerset appointed to bear help to Guienne. A 
considerable force was raised, and Somerset, as 
" Captain-General of France and Guienne," set out in 
August 1443. This incident did not improve the 
relations between York and the Beauforts, for York, 
in addition to losing his reinforcements, felt that his 
rights as Lieutenant-General of France were infringed 
by Somerset's appointment, although the latter's 
authority was supposed to be restricted to regions 
not under the control of York, Somerset was an 
incompetent commander, and wasted his time and 



166 HENRY VI [1443-4 

his men in making useless raids into Maine and Anjou 
instead of pressing on to Bordeaux. Consequently he 
never reached Guienne at all, and returned home 
having done nothing. Probably his health was 
already failing, for he died in the following spring. 
His brother, Edmund Beaufort, Earl of Dorset, then 
succeeded to the Earldom of Somerset and to the 
influential position of the Beauforts, in which he was 
so soon to come into deadly conflict with York.^ 

The failure of this expedition and the eclipse of 
Gloucester's influence turned the inclinations of 
England once more towards peace, and the wish was 
shared by the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany and Or- 
leans, the last of whom was mindful of the conditions 
of his release. The Pope also urged the desirability of 
putting an end to the hostilities. The Beauforts and 
King Henry, moreover, were anxious that peace should 
be secured by the young King's marriage with 
Margaret, daughter of Rene of Anjou, who was 
brother to the Queen of Charles VII. Accordingly 
in 1444 the Earl of Suffolk and the Bishop of Chichester 
were sent over to France to negotiate both the be- 
trothal and a truce. Suffolk's talents, however, were 
not such as fitted him for diplomatic service, and he 
betrayed such obvious eagerness to gain his ends 
that the French, seeing their opportunity, became 
more and more exorbitant in their demands. In the 
end nothing was gained but the promise of a truce for 

^ John Beaufort left a daughter, Margaret, who married Edmund 
Tudor, half-brother of Henry VI, and became the mother of Henry 
VII and ancestress of the Tudor Sovereigns. 



1445] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 167 

two years, while Suffolk had committed Henry to 
receiving Margaret as his wife entirely without dower. 
Suffolk then returned to England holding out hopes 
that he would be able to convert the truce into a 
peace with suitable terms later on, and was made 
a marquis for his pains. At the beginning of 1445 
he returned to Nancy, where Rene had his Court, 
"with great apparel of chayres"^ to fetch the King's 
bride. But Rene, as already related, now demanded 
as a condition of the marriage the surrender of all 
the English strongholds in Maine and Anjou, Rene's 
ancestral lands. Suffolk's bungling had thus put 
him into a most unfortunate position, but he dared 
not draw back now and return ignominiously to 
England without the promised Queen on whom Henry 
had set his heart, and he was therefore obliged to 
accept these extraordinary terms. Doubtless he felt 
thankful that he had taken the precaution of obtain- 
ing an indemnity beforehand for anything that his 
embassy might involve. In February, Suffolk was 
married to Margaret as proxy for Henry, and she was 
then escorted to England by Suffolk and his wife. 

The news of the surrender of Maine was kept secret 
as long as possible. In July, according to promise, 
French Ambassadors came over to treat for peace, 
but the negotiations proved futile, as the French, 
now grown bold, had set their hearts on gaining 
Normandy, and Parliament, probably distrustful of 
what concessions Suffolk might make, petitioned against 
the conclusion of peace on the grounds that Henry V 
^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 617. 



168 HENRY VI [1446-8 

had said that no treaty should be made without the 
consent of the three estates of the realm. The truce, 
however, was prolonged until November 1446. During 
the marriage truce many English Captains, who for 
long years had been serving in France, at last had an 
opportunity of returning home to see their wives 
and children. 

Difficulties followed with the surrendered lands, 
for the English garrisons in Maine flatly refused to 
give up their towns to the French without striking a 
blow. The French demanded that they should be 
surrendered at once, but the English invented endless 
excuses for delay, and months passed into years while 
nothing was done. Lemans in particular gave great 
trouble and held out the longest. In the autumn of 
1447 the Captain of the town received formal orders 
from England to surrender, but even then he continued 
to evade the necessity. At last, in exasperation, the 
French took matters into their own hands, entered 
Maine with an army in February 1448, and laid siege 
to Lemans. The town was forced to surrender on 
16 March, and the garrison, with those ejected from 
other towns, evacuated Maine in a discontented frame 
of mind, destined to cause catastrophe in the near 
future, and took up their quarters at Mortain and 
St. James de Beuvron, near the borders of Brittany. 
Maine and Anjou thus passed out of English dominion, 
in spite of the quibbling protest of Matthew Gough 
that the cession was only on condition of a secure 
peace being concluded and that the English sovereignty 
was not resigned. 




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1447] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 169 

Meanwhile the truce between England and France 
had been extended until 1449. 

In 1447 York's term of office as Lieutenant-General 
of France expired. Parliament wished to reappoint 
him, but Somerset, who desired the post for himself, 
with the assistance of Suffolk " cautiously, shrewdly 
and subtly prevailed upon the King " ^ to recall 
York and give the appointment to him. It is possible 
that York was getting a little out of hand, for in 1445 
he had proposed a marriage between his son Edward ^ 
(destined to become Edward IV) and the daughter of 
the French King, which seems a little ambitious at 
that stage of his fortunes. He was appointed in 1447 
to that favourite post for inconvenient persons — the 
Lieutenancy of Ireland. He, however, improved the 
occasion by making himself very popular there, and 
his administration was so successful that — 

" All the Try she beganne him to obey, 
He ruled that lande full well and worthely." ^ 

His wife Cecily, " the Rose of Raby," accompanied 
him to Ireland, and their son George, Duke of Clarence, 
was born in 1449 at Dublin Castle. Naturally York 
was much incensed with Somerset for thus sending 
him into exile, " so that," in the words of the chronicler, 
" a torch of anger burned vehemently in the furnace 
of his breast," ^ and a desire for revenge was thus 

1 Riley, Reg. Ahhat. J. Whethamstede (Rolls Ser.), 160. 
^ He would then have been three years old. 

2 Hardyng's Chronicle, p. 399. 

* Riley, Reg. Ahhat. J. Whethamstede (Rolls Ser.), 160. 



170 HENRY VI [1445 

implanted which had the gravest influence upon 
subsequent events. 

These years of truce since 1444 had been of the 
utmost importance to France. At last she had a 
breathing space in which to put her house in order. 
Charles, now thoroughly roused to a sense of his 
duties, both by the energy of his captains and, as is 
usually related, by the representations of Agnes 
Sorelle, undertook the reorganization of his army 
in good earnest. Attempts had already been made 
in 1439, as we have seen. In 1445 a Council, 
aided in its deliberations by all the notable military 
leaders of France, met at Nancy to discuss reforms. 
As a result of their deliberations the whole cavalry 
force of the army — which was the most important 
part in those days — was divided into " compagnies 
d'ordonnance " according to the districts from which 
they were recruited, and each company was com- 
manded by a captain appointed by the King. These 
companies, of which there were fifteen, were each 
composed of a hundred " lances," each " lance " 
consisting of about six men. The soldiers were 
quartered in settled places, and each company was 
supported at the expense of the province from which 
it was drawn, and received regular pay. They were, 
moreover, strictly disciplined, a matter not easy of 
realization at first owing to the demoralized condition 
to which the war had long ago sunk, but one which 
was accomplished with time. The bands of " ecor- 
cheurs " — brigand free-lances — were effectually dis- 
persed, and the pick of them enrolled in the new 



1445] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 171 

companies. Order was gradually restored ; the people 
no longer groaned under pillage and lawlessness, and 
once more ventured to till their fields, but since the 
reforms necessitated a tax which weighed heavily 
upon them in their distressed condition, they refrained 
from enthusiasm. The regular army of cavalry thus 
formed was reinforced in time of need by auxiliary 
companies of " petite ordonnance." The towns had 
always been accustomed to supply bodies of infantry, 
but now regular companies of " Franc-archers " 
were formed, these lightly armed bowmen being 
provided in a proportion of one from every fifty 
households in a parish. Thus a national infantry was 
created. 

A peculiar feature of fifteenth-century warfare 
was the use, side by side, of the old-fashioned archers, 
both longbowmen and crossbowmen or " arbalest- 
riers," with the new artillery, the use of which was 
just beginning to be understood. We have here a 
period of transition between the old and new methods 
of warfare from a distance. The sinister genius of the 
brothers Jean and Gaspard Bureau provided Charles's 
army with these engines of war in such profusion that 
" no one could remember any Christian King ever 
having such great artillery." ^ All kinds of new- 
fangled cannon with fantastic names — venglaires, 
serpentines, crapeaulx, ribaudigues, and so on — were 
manufactured, with bombards and siege-engines and 
hand-guns. Charles's soldiers, moreover, were better 

^ Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (Rolls Ser.), 
p. 373. 



172 HENRY VI [1447 

protected with armour than they had formerly been, 
and thus the number of casualties was reduced. 

During these momentous five years of truce, there- 
fore, Charles was preparing the instruments for the 
final expulsion of his enemies, and all was ready, on 
his side, for the renewal of war. The opportunity 
was provided by the foolhardiness of the English, 
who most obligingly played into his hands. 

England meanwhile had been absorbed with her 
home affairs. The country, although outwardly quiet, 
was inwardly seething with discontent. The year 
1447 saw the death of both Gloucester and Cardinal 
Beaufort, and thus the government of the country 
had fallen into the incompetent hands of Suffolk and 
Somerset, the favourites of the young Queen. Matters 
were rapidly ripening for internal revolt, and no 
attention was paid to affairs in France. Henry's two 
remaining provinces, Guienne and Normandy, had 
been left to their own devices. Through false economy 
the defences of their strongholds had not been kept up, 
and in many places the garrisons had actually been 
reduced, and this even in Normandy, where public 
feeling was everywhere growing more and more anti- 
English. Even so the Treasury was so poverty-stricken 
that when war did break out Henry was obliged 
before the end of the year to pawn some of his jewels 
and plate in order to pay the army in Normandy. 

One would have thought that in the state of affairs 
described every effort would have been made to keep 
the peace, but at this most unsuitable moment for 
England, and most propitious time for France, the 



1449] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 173 

truce was broken by a wanton act of violence on the 
part of the EngHsh. 

On 24 March, 1449, the discontented garrisons ex- 
pelled from Maine, who had settled on the borders of 
Brittany, sallied forth, led by Fran9ois de Surienne, 
Captain of Verneuil, crossed the frontier, and falUng 
upon Fougeres, one of the most prosperous towns 
of Brittany, stormed and pillaged it. An outburst 
of fury naturally followed. Arthur of Brittany, on 
receiving the news at an early hour, flew from his 
bed, and without even waiting to assume his clothing 
violently harangued his men, who did not appear to 
liim to be sufficiently indignant at the outrage.^ 
Charles and Burgundy, entirely entering into his feel- 
ings, heartily supported him in demanding the surrender 
of Fougeres and the return of his goods, but Somerset, 
who might yet have saved the situation by offering 
suitable reparation, with dncredible folly refused to 
give any apology or redress. The French, in retalia- 
tion, resorted to arms, and in May took Pont de I'Arche 
and Gerberoy in Normandy, and Cognac and St. Megrin 
in Guienne. This so enraged Somerset that he refused 
to listen to offers of exchange, and consequently at the 
end of July Charles declared war. Normandy was 
all on his side and did not conceal it, as ran the song — 

" Tres noble roy Charles Fran5ois, 
Entens la supplicacion 
Des Normans contre les Anglois, 
La desol6e et male nacion." ^ 

^ Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (R. Blondel , 
p. 19. 

2 Lavisse, Htstoire de France, IV. ii. 105. 



174 HENRY VI [1449 

The English were totally unprepared and their army 
was in a disorganized condition, but, far from grasping 
the situation, they merely began in the summer to 
raise reinforcements in the usual unhurried manner. 
But Charles, with his new and well-organized army, 
swept rapidly over Normandy with irresistible strength. 
Towns fell before his arms in all directions. Verneuil 
was betrayed by a miller whom the English had beaten 
for sleeping at his post; at Mantes the inhabitants 
forced the English to surrender by seizing a tower and 
a gate ; Lisieux threw open its gates without striking 
a blow ; at Essay the entire English garrison was 
surprised fishing at a pond some distance from the 
town, and was ignominiously captured ; Roche-Guyon 
was surrendered by its captain with a view to securing 
the lands of his French wife.^ These examples show 
sufficiently the condition of affairs, " It was evident 
that Heaven was against the English," concludes 
Monstrelet in his Chronicle, " and they were deserving 
of it, for it is a fact that they have always encroached 
on their Christian neighbours, as well in France as in 
Scotland, Ireland, Wales and elsewhere." ^ Such was 
the view of the Frenchmen of the time. 

Talbot, " like a boar enraged," ^ made a gallant 
attempt to break through the French lines before 
Verneuil and relieve the town, but was obliged to 
retreat to Rouen, where Somerset, hampered by the 

^ Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (Berry the 
herald; Rolls Ser.), pp. 272-7. 

* Chron. of E. de Monstrelet (trans. Thos. Johnes), ii. 155. 

2 Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (R. Blondel ; 
RoUs Ser.), p. 58. 



1449] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 175 

presence of his wife and children, had shut himself up 
against the storm that was overwhelming him. In 
October Charles's army surrounded them. The French 
remained before Rouen for three days, but " suffered 
so greatly from the continual rains and storms that 
the whole army was nearly destroyed," ^ and they 
retired up the river to Pont de I'Arche. The inhabit- 
ants of Rouen, however, rose against the EngUsh and 
gained possession of two towers on the wall, hearing of 
which the French returned. An assault took place on 
16 October, and a fierce fight was waged upon the wall 
between the two towers, but Talbot with great valour 
drove the French back with " miserable destruction," 
and they again withdrew to Pont de I'Arche. But at 
this the people of Rouen, not wishing to have their 
town sacked, sent a friendly embassy to Charles, and 
on 19 October " moved very resolutely " ^ against the 
English and compelled them to retire into the castle, 
after which they opened the gates to the French. 
Somerset, after a personal interview with Charles, was 
obliged to capitulate and accept disgraceful terms. 
He and his family and the English troops were per- 
mitted to retire unmolested on condition of surrendering 
to the French the castles of Arques, Lillebonne and 
Tancarville, and the towns of Caudebec, Montevilliers 
and Honfleur, together with a payment of 50,000 
crowns. Honfleur, however, being more loyal to the 
English than most Norman towns, refused to surrender, 

1 Chron. of E. de Monstrelet (trans. Thos. Johnes), ii. 165. 

2 Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (Berry; Rolls 
Ser.), p. 300. 



176 HENRY VI [U49-50 

and consequently Talbot and some others were de- 
tained as hostages. Somerset retreated to Caen, much 
discomforted. 

On 10 November Charles VII entered Rouen in 
state, accompanied by Rene, King of Sicily, father of 
Queen Margaret of England, the Count of Maine his 
brother, and many other lords all very gorgeously 
dressed. The pageantry on this occasion was less 
rehgious than usual, and included a " Tyger with its 
young ones, who were admiring themselves in looking- 
glasses," and a stag that knelt by machinery when the 
King approached. The English hostages watched 
the proceedings from a window, " very pensive and 
hurt at heart." ^ 

Thus the French in three months had gained control 
of the whole of the Lower Seine. By the end of the 
year Chateau Gaillard had fallen, and only nine towns 
of importance remained in the hands of the English. 

At home, the Government was paralyzed by these 
disasters. The people were infuriated and vented 
their rage on the Bishop of Chichester, a friend of 
Suffolk's, whom they murdered when he came down 
to pay the troops collected at Portsmouth. Suffolk's 
own end was not long delayed. At length, in March 
1450, the reinforcements — too small and too long 
delayed to be of much use — were actually ready, and 
on the 15th about 3000 men were landed at Cher- 
bourg under the command of Sir Thomas Kyriel. 
Harfleur, Honfleur, Belleme— the last under Matthew 
Gougli— and Fresnay had fallen meanwhile, since the 
^ Chron. of E. de Monstrekt (trans. Thos, Johnes), ii. 172. 



1450] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 177 

beginning of the year. Kyriel succeeded in taking 
Valognes, which lay in his path, and after this delay 
marched towards Bayeux in order to join the detach- 
ments sent to his support by Somerset from the garri- 
sons of Bayeux, Vire and Caen. With his army swelled 
by these bands to 5000 or 6000 men, Kyriel came into 
touch with the French at the "Fords of St. Clement." 
After a skirmish there on 14 April he reached the 
village of Formigny on the 15th, and there drew up in 
order of battle, hastily recalling Matthew Gough, who 
had gone on towards Bayeux. In front of their posi- 
tion the English dug " large holes and trenches with 
their daggers and swords " in order to embarrass 
the enemy's cavalry ; ^ in their rear were orchards, 
gardens and a little river. The French army in front 
of them was commanded by the Comte de Clermont, 
who opened a heavy artillery fire upon their lines. 
The English, however, fought well and might have 
succeeded in holding their own if they had had Cler- 
mont only to deal with. Their defeat was due to the 
unexpected arrival of Richemont on their flank, of 
whose vicinity they seem to have been entirely un- 
aware. Fearing his attack they fell back to the river, 
but there both Clermont and Richemont fell upon 
them and they were practically exterminated. Nearly 
3800 English were killed and 1400 made prisoners ; 
Kyriel was captured, but Matthew Gough succeeded 
in escaping to Bayeux with the remnant of the army. 
" Eight French at the most " are said to have been 

^ Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (Berry; Rolls 
Ser.), 333. 

N 



178 HENRY VI [1450 

killed/ but this is probably a more than optimistic 
view of the case. 

The remaining English towns in Normandy quickly 
fell into the hands of the French, Vire surrendered ; 
Avranches capitulated after three weeks of battering 
by Charles's engines, and the garrison was allowed to 
depart " each carrying a stick in his hand." Matthew 
Gough, at Bayeux, surrendered after a gallant defence, 
and the French, " for the honour of courtesy," lent 
them horses and carts to help convey the women and 
children to a place of safety, for there were a great many 
in the town. " Some carried the smallest of the 
children in their arms," says Berry the herald, " the 
next on their poor backs, and the bigger ones they led 
by the hand. It was a very miserable sight." ^ 
Somerset, his wife and children again with him, was 
shut up in Caen, Henry's university city, and thither 
Charles went in person and conducted a vigorous siege. 
After holding out for three weeks Somerset allowed his 
family feelings to get the better of him, and gave up 
the town on 24 June, when he was allowed to retire. 
Falaise surrendered in July on condition of the release 
of Talbot, who was thus freed, and departed on a 
journey to Rome. Only Cherbourg remained to the 
English, and after " a valiant defence " the town and 
castle capitulated on 12 August. 

Thus Normandy, which had taken Henry the 
Sixth's father so many years of hard fighting to gain, 

1 Chron. of E. de Monstrelet (trans. Thos. Johnes), ii. 180. 

2 Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (Berry ; Rolls 
Ser.), 343. 



1450] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 179 

was lost in a year, " which is a very wonderful thing," 
says Berry the herald, " for never was so large a 
country conquered in so short a time, nor with the loss 
of so few people, nor with less injury." ^ The English 
were so alarmed by the success of the French that they 
hastened to put the Isle of Wight in a state of defence. 
Besides the town of Calais, which was to remain 
English ground for another hundred years, only a 
reduced Guienne now rema-ined of the once broad 
dominions of the English in France. Charles lost no 
time in turning his energies in that direction, but the 
situation of affairs in the South was different from that 
in Normandy. The Guiennois, from long custom, were 
loyal to the English, for they had been connected with 
England for three centuries, ever since the marriage 
of Henry II with Eleanor of Aquitaine. The English 
rule over them was lenient, and the Gascons were 
attached to them because their independence had been 
respected ; the wine-growers and wine-merchants of 
Bordeaux and the neighbourhood were also allowed 
special privileges, and the English dominion was 
therefore popular amongst them. At that time, 
however, England was unfortunately not in a position 
to send any assistance to Guienne. Although Cade's 
insurrection in the summer of 1450 had been sup- 
pressed, the country was, nevertheless, in a turbulent 
condition. York had returned from Ireland, and the 
danger of his rivalry with the unpopular Earl of Somer- 
set was engrossing all the attention of the Council and 

1 Stevenson, Narr. of Eng. Expulsion from France (Berry ; RoUa 
Ser.), 368. 



180 HENRY VI [1451-2 

the Parliament. The country was hovering on the 
verge of civil war, and it was therefore not remarkable 
that the interests of Guienne were neglected. 

In the spring of 1451 Dunois marched south with an 
army and attacked the frontiers of the Bordelais. In 
May, Bureau and his famous artillery reduced Blaye ; 
Libourne and the strong castle of Fronsac, the " key 
of Guienne," fell in June. At the end of the month 
Bordeaux, finding that there was no hope of succour 
from England, cautiously concluded a treaty with 
Charles safeguarding the liberties of the province, and 
on 30 June opened its gates. Bayonne held out until 
20 August. 

This time, however, the seemingly easy conquest of 
Guienne proved deceptive. The Comte de Clermont 
was appointed Governor for the French and set up a 
system of administration which did not meet with the 
approval of the people, particularly those in the neigh- 
bourhood of Bordeaux. They quickly became dis- 
contented with the taxes imposed upon them and 
with the body of " strangers " who collected them, and 
in 1452 they opened secret communications with 
England and sent an appeal for help. The inhabitants 
of Maine also sent a petition to Henry VI this year, 
complaining of the French occupation. The French, 
becoming aware of the unrest in Guienne, redoubled 
their exactions in the Bordelais, and the inhabitants 
redoubled their petitions to the EngUsh. At last, 
during a lull in the strife between York and Somerset, 
a final effort was made in England to raise troops, 
and the aged Talbot, now over eighty years of age, but 



1452-3] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 181 

still full of energy, was sent out to Guienne with 3000 
men. Landing on 17 October, 1452, he pushed rapidly 
forward, and Bordeaux gladly opened its gates to him 
on the 21st. The district round was quickly recovered, 
and Charles, who had withdrawn to the North, thinking 
that the English were about to threaten Normandy, 
made no attempt to return to the South and dislodge 
Talbot until the spring of 1453. Then, however, he 
gathered in full force. MeauAvhile Talbot and his son, 
who had arrived with further reinforcements, had re- 
covered Fronsac. When the French at length appeared 
in July they laid siege to Castillon on the Dordogne, 
under the direction of Jean Bureau, and Talbot marched 
out from Bordeaux with all his men to relieve it. On 
the morning of 17 July, v/hile Talbot Avas hearing Mass, 
news was brought to him that the French were moving 
from their entrenchments. With his usual impetuosity 
he sprang up, and, rushing out in the middle of Mass 
regardless of the shocked remonstrance of one of his 
captains, ordered an immediate attack. ^ But Jean 
Bureau had three hundred cannon concealed behind 
his entrenchments, and received the English with a 
murderous fire. Nevertheless, they pressed forward 
gallantly. Talbot, conspicuous in a surcoat of red 
velvet, led the charge and actually planted his standard 
on the barrier ; but at the next discharge of Bureau's 
culverins he fell. The French sprang out from their 
trenches and a fierce fight was waged over his body, 
during which one of the soldiers gave him the final 
blow without knov/ing who he was, and a flank attack 
^ Michelet, Histoire de France, vii. 78. 



182 HENRY VI [1453 

decided the defeat of the EngUsh. With the death of 
the renowned Earl of Shrewsbury the last hope of 
English success in France perished, 

Bordeaux held out for two months longer, but finally 
surrendered on 19 October. 

The Enghsh dominion in France was at an end. No 
formal treaty of peace ended the Hundred Years War. 
The English would not acknowledge defeat, and the 
empty title of " King of France " was retained by the 
English monarchs until 1802 ; but they were unable at 
this time to continue the struggle, and consequently 
hostihties lapsed. 

The loss of France by England, while it dealt a 
severe blow to the national pride, was in reaUty a 
great benefit to the country. The war had always 
been an unjust one, embarked upon and carried through 
largely from motives of vainglory and aggrandizement ; 
it was also foohsh, for the England of that day was 
not strong or rich enough to maintain a hold over 
another large nation even if she had been able, in the 
first place, to subdue it. The long strain of a century 
of warfare had exhausted the resources of England and 
had brought her to a weak and impoverished condi- 
tion, but now that burden was removed, and she had 
not even to meet the expenses of the guardianship of 
Normandy and Guienne, she was able to turn all her 
attention to grappling with the turmoil of her internal 
condition. All her resources were needed for this task, 
and thus the loss of the French dominions was the best 
thing which could have happened under the circum- 
stances. At the time, of course, the disasters to the 



1453] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 183 

English arms caused an outburst of indignation and 
discontent at home, all of which hastened on the out- 
break of civil strife — a conflict which owed much of its 
ferocity to the fierce and lawless spirit fostered in 
England by the long period of warfare abroad. 

The same year in which France finally freed herself 
from the EngUsh dominion witnessed an event of world- 
wide importance in the East. In May, Constantinople 
had fallen before the Turks, and the seeds of the " new 
learning " were about to be scattered over Europe. 

One thing more remained for the victorious Charles 
to do — that was to clear the memory of Jeanne d'Arc 
from the sentence of heresy and sorcery passed upon 
her by the English. Certainly it would have been more 
to the point if he had made an attempt to save her 
while she was yet aUve ; why he did not no one knows. 
Probably the influence of La Tremouille was too strong. 
But it must be remembered that Jeanne was not held 
by the English as an ordinary prisoner of war, but was 
claimed by the Church as a heretic suspect, and it is 
therefore quite Ukely that Charles, as a CathoUc King, 
was afraid to meddle with her lest a stain should be 
cast upon his own orthodoxy. It would surely have 
been an unheard-of thing to attempt to ransom a heretic. 
For the same reason she could hardly have been 
exchanged for English prisoners of war.^ We will hope 
that Charles had a disinterested and sincere wish to 

^ It is usually cited against Charles that Talbot was among the 
prisoners in his hands at the time, and would have been a fitting 
exchange ; but Talbot was ransomed in 1430 for 8000 marks, before 
the English had gained possession of Jeanne. See Stevenson, 
Letters and Papers of Reign of Henry VI, i. 422. 



184 HENRY VI [1450 

clear Jeanne's memory, but, since to the mediaeval 
mind heresy appeared as a kind of awful and con- 
tagious poison, the King also thought it desirable that 
he himself should thus be cleared from the stain of 
association with a heretic and sorceress, from which 
we may perceive that his motive was not altogether 
unselfish. 

When Charles took Rouen in 1449 all the documents 
relating to the trial came into his possession, and in 
February 1450 he instituted an inquiry under the 
direction of William Bouille, Rector of the University 
of Paris. " For the honour of the most Christian 
King," declared the Rector, " it is impossible to pass 
over in silence a sentence iniquitous, scandalous and 
dishonouring to the royal crown, fulminated by that 
Bishop of Beauvais who was the enemy of the King 
and who, as is immediately seen, thirsted to confound 
the King our Sire. What a stain would sully the royal 
throne if our adversaries persuaded posterity that the 
King of France had gathered into his army a heretic, 
an invocator of the devil ! " ^ The lawyers appointed 
to this inquiry gave it as their opinion to the King and 
Council that the trial had been irregular both in sub- 
stance and form, but no public declaration was made, 
Charles apparently being satisfied. Not content with 
this, Jeanne's mother, Isabel d'Arc, petitioned Pope 
Nicholas V in 1452 that a further inquiry should be 
made. It was accordingly done, with the same result 
as before, but still without any public declaration, 
partly because the Pope did not wish to hurt the 
^ Lavisse, Histoire de France, IV. ii. 112. 



1455-^] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 185 

feelings of the English. At last, in 1455, Pope Calixtus 
III, being less timid, ordered a new and thorough 
examination to be made, and appointed for the purpose 
the Archbishop of Rheims, the Bishops of Paris and 
Coutances, and Jean Brehal, Inquisitor of France. A 
large number of witnesses were called to testify to 
Jeanne's life and character, including the people of 
Domremy who had known her as a girl, and all the 
available persons who had been with her during her 
public life, beginning with the Comte de Dunois. The 
whole matter having been carefully sifted, a sentence 
of rehabilitation was pronounced on 7 July, 1456, in 
the Archiepiscopal Palace at Rheims. 

" We say, pronounce, decree and declare the said 
Processes and Sentences full of cozenage, iniquity, 
inconsequences and manifest errors, in fact as well as 
in law ; we say that they have been, are and shall be 
. . . null, non-existent, without value or effect. 
Nevertheless, in so far as is necessary, and as reason 
doth command us, we break them, annihilate them, 
annul them, and declare them void of effect ; and we 
declare that the said Jeanne and her relatives. Plaintiffs 
in the actual Process, have not on account of the said 
Trial contracted nor incurred any mark or stigma of 
infamy." ^ 

This sentence was ordered to be proclaimed in the 
Square of St. Ouen and in the old market-place of 
Rouen, with a solemn procession and a public sermon 
on each occasion. It was also ordered that a cross 
should be erected to perpetuate her memory. 
^ Jeanne d'Arc (ed. J. Douglas Murray), 326-7. 



186 HENRY VI [1420-3 

There the matter rested for four and a half centuries 
until Pope Pius X declared his decision that Jeanne 
d'Arc was worthy of admission to the ranks of the 
saints. Accordingly she was beatified on 13 December, 
1908, and the ceremony of canonization took place at 
St. Peter's on 18 April, 1909. 

Since the Scots were a good deal involved in the 
Hundred Years War, this will be a convenient place to 
consider their influence on English affairs both at home 
and abroad during the first thirty years of the reign of 
Henry VI. 

When Henry came to the throne James I of Scotland 
was a prisoner in England, as we have seen, and Albany 
ruled as Regent. In 1420, in response to an embassy 
from Charles VI asking for assistance, a large Scottish 
force had been sent to France under Albany's son, the 
Earl of Buchan, with Archibald, eldest son of Douglas, 
and Sir John Stewart of Darnley. Henry V, in the 
hope of influencing the Scots, had thereupon taken 
James over to France with him, but it was to the 
Scottish force that his severe reverse at Bauge in 1421 
was due. 

In 1423, therefore, the ministers of Henry VI came 
to the decision that it would be best to release James, 
in the hope that he might put a check upon the Scotch 
help sent to France. To further bind him to English 
interests it was arranged that he should marry an 
English Princess. This was easy, for he had already 
fallen deeply in love with Joan Beaufort, the sister of 
the Earl of Somerset. James had grown up skilful in 
knightly exercises, a good scholar, and no mean poet, 



1423-4] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 187 

for he composed in honour of his love the famous 
" King's Quair "— 

"And therewith kest I doun myn eye ageyne 
Quhare as I saw walkyng under the Toure, 
Full secretely, new cumyn hir to pleyne. 
The fairest or the freschest young floure 
That ever I sawe methought before that houre. 
For quhich sodain abate, anon astert 
The blude of all my body to my hert. 

And though I stood abasit tha a lyte 
No wonder was, for quhy my wittis all 
Were so ou'ercome with plesance and delyte 
Onely through latting of myn eyen fall 
That sudajTily my hert became hir thrall 
For ever of free wyll; for of menace 
There was no takyn in hir suete face." ^ 

After spending the Christmas of 1423 with the English 
Court at Hertford, his marriage to Joan took place at 
St. Mary Overy, Southwark, on 13 February, 1424. 
His ransom — politely called payment " for his main- 
tenance in England " — was fixed at £40,000, to be paid 
in six years. A quarter of it was, however, remitted 
as his bride's dowry. Hostages were given for the rest 
of the sum, but as it was never paid these unfortunate 
men languished in England for the rest of their lives. 
A truce was made at the same time, for seven years, on 
the understanding that each side should refrain from 
helping the enemies of the other.^ 

James, the ablest of the Stewart Kings, set out for 
his kingdom on 28 March, entered Scotland on 9 April, 

1 Ramsay, Lane, and York (quoting Skeat, Scottish Text Soc), 
i. 338. 

2 Rymer, Foedera, x. 325-7. 



188 HENRY VI [1424-49 

and was crowned at Scone on 21 May. The aim he set 
before him was to put an end to the lawlessness of his 
nobles, and in this struggle he lived and died. 

He seemed unable, however, to exert any authority 
over the Scottish troops abroad. According to the 
somewhat imaginative chronicler Hall, " after he had 
once taken the ajo-e and smelled the sent of the Scottishe 
soyle " 1 he never again showed any favour to the land 
of his captivity. 

The Scots formed an important element in the French 
army at the battle of Crevant, and also at Verneuil, 
where they suffered great loss and where two of their 
leaders perished. It was the impetuosity of Stewart 
of Darnley which caused the French discomfiture at 
the " Day of Herrings." To the great credit of the 
Scots, they were ever faithful to Jeanne d'Arc, and 
never either deserted or betrayed her. 

At home, after the expiration of the truce in 1433, 
border hostilities once more broke out, but in 1436, 
at Christmas, James I was murdered at Perth, and 
a minority followed. The connection with France was, 
however, strengthened. The eldest daughter of James 
I married the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI, while in 
1448 James II requested the King of France to suggest 
a suitable wife for him.^ The lady selected was Mary 
of Gueldres, niece of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, with 
whom Charles VI was then allied, and the marriage 
thus arranged took place in the following year. In 

^ Hall's Chronicle, p. 119. 

^ Stevenson, Letters and Papers of Reign of Hen. VI (Rolls Ser.), 
1. 197. 



1450] THE LOSS OF FRANCE 189 

1450, when Charles had won back Normandy from the 
Enghsh, James actually sent an embassy to congratu- 
late him and to encourage him to prosecute the war.^ 
With the outbreak of the Civil War, however, James 
adopted an attitude of friendship to the Lancastrians, 
while the Earl of Douglas fled to England and became 
a friend of the Yorkists. 

^ Stevenson, Letters and Papers of Reign of Hen. VI (Rolls Ser.), 
i. 301. 



CHAPTER VI 

1450-1453 : jack cade's rebellion and the birth 
op prince edward 

At Whitsuntide 1450— Whit-Sunday that year fell 
on 24 May — Parliament was sitting at Leicester, 
apparently oblivious of danger, when the news arrived 
of a serious rising in the turbulent county of Kent. 

It seems to have been a characteristic of the Lan- 
castrian Government that it was never prepared for 
anything ; in this case there had been many indica- 
tions of unrest, from which they might have taken 
warning. 

London, as we have already seen, was in such a 
disturbed state that Court and Parliament had been 
removed from it after the release of Suffolk. But even 
before this outbreaks had begun in Kent. At Canter- 
bury, one Thomas Cheyney, a fuller, " calling himself 
an heremite cleped Blew-berd," ^ had raised an insur- 
rection early in the year, but had been captured on 
9 February. His head and body were duly ordered 
to be distributed about the country for the warning 
of the people, but Cheyney, or his cause, was looked 
upon so favourably in Kent that the King's officers had 
some difficulty in getting their orders carried out, 
" by cause that unneth any persones durst or wolde 

1 Orig. Letters Illus. of Eng. Hiat. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), Ser. II. i. 116. 

190 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 191 

take upon hem the caridge of the seyd hed and quarters 
for doute of her Uves." ^ According to Fabyan's 
Chronicle, Cheyney was only one of several insurgent 
leaders, for, he says, there " ensued a rebellyon of the 
commons, in so moche that they assembled them in 
sondry places and made of themself capitaynes and 
named them Blewe berde and other counterfayte 
names," and this is borne out by the fact that on 
17 February the Council sent a warning to the Mayors 
of Canterbury, Colchester, Sudbury, Sandwich and 
Oxford, the Portreeve of Maidstone, and the BailifEs 
of Winchelsea not to permit assembUes or gatherings 
of the people. 

Suffolk was removed, but his hated associates were 
in as great favour at Court as ever, so that the Govern- 
ment had not improved. Moreover, Suffolk's murder 
off the coast of Kent and the casting of his body on 
the beach of Dover had given rise to a strange rumour 
" that Kent should be destroyed with royall power 
and made a wild forest " ^ in revenge for his death. 
On the top of this came the news of the utter rout of 
Sir Thomas Kyriel and his reinforcements at Formigny, 
and the last hope of success in Normandy was shattered. 
This proved the last straw, and the discontent in the 
south-east could no longer be restrained. 

But this rising of 1450, commonly known as Jack 
Cade's Rebellion, was no mere disorderly outbreak 
among the peasantry, but an organized rising of the 
people of Kent, East Sussex, Surrey and Essex 

1 Orig. Letters Illus. of Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), Ser. II. i. 115. 
' B. B. Orridge, Illustrations of Jack Cadets Eebellion, 31. 



192 HENRY VI [1450 

against the political grievances caused by the intoler- 
able weakness and incompetence of the Government. 
Cade, says one of the chroniclers, called himself John 
Amende-alle, " forasmuche as thanne and longe before 
the reme of Englond hadde be[en] rewlid be untrew 
counselle ... so that alle the comune peple what 
for taxes and tallages and other oppressions myght 
not live be thair handwork and husbondrie, wherfore 
thay grucchid sore ayens thaym that hadde the 
gouernaunce of the land." ^ That these abuses were 
very real and urgent may be seen from the formal 
complaints and requests drawn up by the insurgents 
and presented by Cade. These pointed out that — 

1. The King had given away the Crown lands to 
such an extent that, while others were thus living 
upon his revenue, he was obliged to live upon the 
Commons and oppress them by heavy, taxation. In 
addition to this the stuff and purveyance for his 
household were often not paid for, but improperly 
extorted by his officers. 

2. The offices of collectors of the revenue were 
bought and sold, whereas these officials ought to be 
" indifferently " appointed by the " knights of the 
shires," i. e. the local Members of Parliament. 

3. The knights of the shires themselves were not 
elected as they should be, for election by the free- 
holders was interfered with by the influence of the 
great men of the county, who compelled the people 
to elect their nominees.^ 

1 Eng. Chron. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 64. 

^ In 1430 the franchise had been restricted to 40s. freeholders. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 193 

4. The administration of justice was in a most 
corrupt condition. The sheriffs extorted excessive 
bail ; the County Sessions were held in remote places, 
so that men were sometimes compelled to travel a 
five days' journey to attend them, to their great cost 
and inconvenience; writs of " Green Wax " to enforce 
payment of Crown dues were served without summons 
or warning ; feigned impeachments and indictments 
were brought against any one chosen by the Court 
favourites with the object of obtaining their lands, for 
the people were often too poor to pursue their right, 
hence evictments were common. Locally, the Ministers 
of the Court of Dover arrested people all over the 
county, far beyond the castle ward, and extorted large 
fines from them. The Barons of the Cinque Ports 
aroused jealousy by their exemption from the tax of 
the fifteenth penny. 

5. The King's lands in France had been lost by 
mismanagement, and the " traitors " who were re- 
sponsible for this went unpunished. 

The English disasters in France were a serious 

matter to many, for in the previous year Burgundy, 

now completely on the side of Charles, had prohibited 

the import of English cloth into Flanders, and thus the 

English clothiers lost for a time their chief market, 

and many must have been thrown out of work to 

swell the company of the discontented. The salt and 

wine trade from Guienne was also stopped, and the 

channel was so ill kept by the English navy that 

French pirates endangered shipping and even landed 

on the coast of Sussex. 
o 



194 HENRY VI [1450 

6. Offices were only conferred on favourites, " mean 
persons " of low birth, while lords of the royal blood 
were " put out of the King's presence." 

York was particularly pointed at as an example of 
this, but it is improbable that he had any actual 
connection with the rising. People would naturally 
look to him, as the known enemy of Suffolk and the 
Beauforts, to abolish their abuses. On the other hand, 
since the rising was aimed against the misgovernment 
of the Queen's party, the friends of York would 
naturally be ready to support it. 

These being the chief points of grievance, Cade 
therefore petitioned that — 

1. The King should resume the Crown lands. 

He would probably be ignorant of the fact that this 
had just been partially effected by the Parliament at 
Leicester. After the news of the disaster of Formigny, 
Henry had yielded to their urging and had consented 
to the resumption of the Crown lands on condition 
that he could grant exceptions. But since his ex- 
ceptions included every one of importance to whom he 
had given them — the Court, the Household, and his 
Charitable Foundations — this resumption did not 
amount to much after all. 

2. Suffolk's minions should be removed, and the 
Dukes of York, Exeter, Norfolk and Buckingham 
recalled, 

3. The extortions of the King's officers were to 
cease, and the abuses of justice to be removed. 

4. The irksome provisions of the Statute of La- 
bourers, imposing penalties on labourers who demanded 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 195 

more than a certain wage/ were to be repealed, for 
the conditions had altered. 

This seems to have been the only social grievance 
put forward by the insurgents. 

The people of Kent were the most enlightened and 
advanced section of the population of England. They 
were industrial and prosperous, and their democratic 
tendency had perhaps been fostered, as one writer 
suggests, by the ancient custom of gavelkind, peculiar 
to that part of the country, by which a man's land 
was divided between all his sons instead of passing 
to the eldest ; thus a numerous body of small-holders 
would be created. 

During Whitsunweek 1450, therefore, the men of 
Kent swiftly and silently mustered in the cause of 
administrative reform. We know from the pardons 
subsequently entered upon the Patent Rolls, and 
investigated by Mr. Durrant Cooper, what manner 
of men the gathering included. ^ The list included one 
knight — Sir John Cheyne from the Isle of Sheppey — 
eighteen squires, seventy-four " gentlemen," a large 
company of yeomen, five parsons, and two " holy- 
water clerks." In many Hundreds the levies were 
called out in the regular manner by their constables, 
and twenty-seven of these officials were involved. 
Many parishes also furnished local contingents. The 
Mayor of Queenborough was among the insurgents, 
and the Bailiff of Folkestone, whose townspeople were 
pardoned in a body. The towns of Canterbury, 

1 See Chap. I. 

2 B. B. Orridge, Illustrations of Jack Cade's Rebellion, 25-9. 



196 HENRY VI [1450 

Chatham, Rochester, Maidstone and Sandwich were 
also deeply involved. Men engaged in all kinds of 
occupations appear on the list, which furnishes con- 
siderable information on the industries of the time. 
This assemblage, representative of the entire populace 
of the county, chose for its leader Jack Cade, a man 
of whose origin various tales are told and nothing 
definitely known. For the furtherance of his cause 
Cade declared himself to be John Mortimer, thus 
claiming cousinship with the late Earl of March, 
and relationship with the Duke of York. This claim, 
however, was entirely fictitious. In all probability 
his name really was Cade, for investigations have shown 
that it was a common enough name in that part of 
the country from the fourteenth to the sixteenth cen- 
turies. He is, however, stated by several writers to 
have been an Irishman,^ or at least to have been born 
in Ireland, which may have been laid stress upon as 
subtly indicating a connection with the Duke of York 
during his Lieutenancy there. The tale that he had 
been outlawed from England for the murder of a 
woman seems improbable, for, in that case, how could 
he have recovered his position as a gentleman of 
substance in Kent by 1450 ? That he was a landed 
man of a family of some standing is proved by the 
fact that after this rebelhon his " goods, lands and 
tenements, rents and possessions " were forfeited, and 
his blood declared corrupt, which would not have been 
necessary had he been a mere soldier of fortune. It 

^ Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), pt. iv. 
39; Eng. Chro7i. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 64. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 197 

is much more probable that he had served for some 
time in the French wars, and had thus acquired the 
miHtary experience and capacity which he afterwards 
displayed, and that his enemies invented, or appro- 
priated from another person of a somewhat similar 
name, the discreditable reason for his going. How 
was it that such a company of squires, gentry, yeomen 
and wary townsmen were willing to serve under him 
without a murmur of discontent ? And how was it that 
Robert Poynings, uncle of Baroness Poynings, after- 
wards Countess of Northumberland, consented to act 
as his carver and sword-bearer ? It seems clear that 
his claim to be John Mortimer must have been fer- 
vently believed in, and, coupled with considerable 
capacity for command, and perhaps some personal 
magnetism, was sufficient to win their entire confidence. 
Otherwise he must have been a known and respected 
man in the county, and in that case he would not 
have needed to assume a well-known name. The former 
alternative, therefore, was probably the correct one. 
Also we are told that, when in London, Cade caused a 
man named Bailly to be executed, ostensibly as a 
necromancer, but, as his enemies said, for knowing too 
much of his past.^ This man was perhaps in possession 
of the innocent but inconvenient knowledge that the 
Captain's name was Cade and not Mortimer. This 
revelation was, however, nipped in the bud, and he 
was known to every one as Mortimer until the middle 
of July, when he had retreated to Rochester, and 
when the Government proclaimed him a traitor under 
1 Fabyan's Chronicle, 624. 



198 HENRY VI [1450 

the name of Cade. Then he evidently thought the 
game was up, and fled. All this points to the fact 
that his ascendancy was based on his acceptance as 
Mortimer, representative of political and dynastic 
opposition to Lancastrian misrule. Whoever he was 
he headed a movement — national in feeling so far as 
it went — for the reform of crying abuses in the govern- 
ment of the country, and against the oppression and 
injustice of a corrupt ministry. 

" Mortimer " and his host, setting out in the last 
days of May, marched towards London, and on 1 June 
encamped on Blackheath, between Eltham and Green- 
wich. He maintained his men by pillaging the 
country round, and opened communication with 
London. His agent in the city was Thomas Cooke, 
a draper, and a man of some importance, for he 
afterwards became Mayor, and at the coronation of 
Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of Edward IV, was made 
a Knight of the Bath. Through his agency the Italian 
merchants in London were required to provide Cade 
with a thousand marks in money, twelve " harnesses," ^ 
the same number of brigandines,^ battle-axes and 
glades,^ and six horses with their harness. This they 
apparently did. 

The King at Leicester, upon hearing the news of the 
rising, immediately dissolved Parliament and rode to 

^ Coats of armour. 

2 Pliable armour made of little plates of iron sewn on quUted 
linen or leather. 

3 Glaives (?); applied either to a broadsword or to a long cutting 
blade at the end of a lance : B. B. Orridge, Illustrations of Jack 
Cade's Rebellion, 4. 



1450] JACK CADES REBELLION 199 

London, arriving there on 7 June. There he lingered 

awhile, hoping to be able to come to terms with the 

rebels and thus avoid the bloodshed he abhorred. 

Upon Henry sending men of some standing to inquire 

the purpose of their coming, Cade presented the 

petitions and grievances already set forth ; ^ and on 

17 June they were examined by the Council. It is 

noticeable that in this document no attack was made 

upon Henry himself, who was still popular. The 

people were fully aware that he was misled by evil 

and incompetent advisers, and they even represented 

him as not being allowed to pay his debts. Whatever 

the Council may have advised with regard to these 

very reasonable petitions, at this juncture the Court 

party was too strong. They were rejected, and the 

rebels bidden to disperse. Cade, seeing that the 

royal army would now advance against him, " slipped 

away in the night " ^ and fell back towards Bromley 

and Sevenoaks, probably with a view to meeting 

the Sussex men, who were preparing to join him. 

On 18 June Henry left St. John's, ClerkenweU, where 

he had been lodging, and riding through London 

" armyd at alle pecys " ^ advanced with his troops to 

Blackheath. But there he made a mistake, for, either 

through an underrating of the enemy's strength, or, 

as it is said, by the persuasion of Margaret, who feared 

for her husband's safety, only a part of the army was 

1 See above, p. 191-194. 

2 Chron. Aug. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), 
pt. iv. 40. 

Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (cd. Gairdner), 191. 



200 HENRY VI [1460 

sent in pursuit of the insurgents, while Henry remained 
at Blackheath with the rest. 

Near Sevenoaks the Kentish men turned upon the 
King's troops and defeated them, killing their leaders, 
Humphrey and William Stafford, with twenty-four of 
their men. Upon hearing this, Henry's army at 
Blackheath promptly mutinied and proclaimed their 
adherence to Cade's petitions, clamouring for the 
heads of Lords Say and Dudley, John Norris, John 
Say, Daniel, Trevilian and others, the most hated of 
the courtiers. Henry, much dismayed, retired with 
his lords to Greenwich, but finding that the men 
refused to be pacified, he disbanded them and sent 
Lord Say and his son-in-law, Crowmer, the unpopular 
Sheriff of Kent, to the Tower as a slight concession. 
The troops, before returning to their homes, re-entered 
London, plundered the houses of Lord Dudley and 
Thomas Starlawe, and then dispersed. At the end 
of the month Henry, in spite of the wise desire of 
many of the Londoners that he should stay with them, 
retired to Kenil worth. 

The movement was now spreading in an alarming 
fashion. " At this unhappy time," says one chronicler, 
" insurrection was spread all over England because 
all the people were wandering from their lords and 
superiors, not fearing to spoil them," ^ Disturbances 
broke out all over the South and East. The gentlemen 
of East Anglia assembled at Framlingham; the men 
of Essex rose and marched towards London ; in Dorset 

1 Chron. Aug. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), 
pt. iv. 41. 



1460] JACK CADES REBELLION 201 

and at Southampton there were outbreaks. In Wilt- 
shire, the people's vengeance fell upon Aiscough, Bishop 
of Salisbury, who was high in favour at Court, and had 
officiated at Henry's marriage. On 29 June, the feast 
of SS. Peter and Paul, the Bishop " was slayn of his 
owen parisshens and peple at Edyngdoun aftir that 
he hadde said masse, and was drawe fro the auter and 
led up to an hille ther beside ; in his awbe [alb], and 
his stole aboute his necke ; and there thay slow him 
horribly, thair fader and thair bishoppe, and spoillid 
him unto the nakid skyn and rente his blody shirte 
in to pecis and baar thaym away with thaym, and 
made bost of their wickidnesse." ^ Bishop Aiscough 
and the Bishop of Chichester, who had been slain at 
Portsmouth in the previous January, are said to have 
been " wonder covetous men and evil beloved among 
the comune peple and holde suspect of many def antes, 
and were assentyng and willyng to the deth of the 
duke of Gloucestre as it was said." ^ 

" Mortimer's " army was now joined by the men 
of East Sussex. There, as in Kent, the levies of the 
Hundreds had been called out, the Constables of 
twenty-two Hundreds being involved, with the Con- 
stable of Southover, the Constable and burgesses of 
the borough of Lewes, and the Bailiffs of Pevensey 
and Seaford. The Abbot of Battle and the Prior of 
Lewes, with their communities, supported the move- 
ment, which was joined by twenty -seven county 
gentlemen and a large number of yeomen, husbandmen 

1 Eng. Chron. Rich. II. to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 64. 

2 Ibid. 



202 HENRY VI [1450 

and labourers. Nine towns ^ and three parishes 
afterwards received wholesale pardons. 

Thus reinforced from Sussex and Surrey, and hearing 
of the disaffection and dispersion of Henry's followers, 
Cade returned to Blackheath,^ and on 1 July advanced 
to Southwark, where the Captain lodged at the " Hart." 
On the same day the men of Essex reached Mile End. 

On 2 July a Council of Aldermen was called at the 
Guildhall to consider the question of admitting Cade 
and his men to the city. This Council showed itself 
to be strongly anti-Lancastrian ; already on 26 June, 
as soon as the King had retired to Kenilworth, they 
had expelled one of their number, Philip Malpas, who 
had been elected by the compulsion of Henry VI in 
1448. According to Fabyan the only alderman who 
now ventured to oppose Cade's admittance was Robert 
Home, a " stokfysshmonger," who " spake sore agayne 
theym that wold have hym entre. For the whiche 
sayinges the comons were so amovyd agayne hym 
that they ceasyd not tyll they hadde hym commytted 
to warde," ^ It appears, however, from the City 
Records, as if the Council did not venture to go so 
far as to admit Cade by public consent, for later 
an inquiry was held to discover how it was that 
the rebel leader actually gained admission. At this 

^ Robertsbridge, Pevensey, Seaford, Alfriston, Cliffe-by-Lewes, 
Dallington, Brightling, Westham and Milton. There is, however, 
no Milton in Sussex, but several in Kent, and one in Surrey. 

^ Gregory's Chronicle makes the strange and improbable state- 
ment that they returned under a different captain, who pretended 
to be the same as before. 

2 Fabyan' s Chronicle, p. 623. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 203 

inquiry evidence was given that it was not until Cade 
threatened to set fire to London Bridge, and thereby 
to the city, that the keys of the gate were brought 
to him by one Thomas Godfrey, a spurrier, apparently 
without the consent of the City Council. ^ 

The way thus being opened to him. Cade and his 
men entered London about five o'clock in the after- 
noon. As he entered, the Captain took the precaution 
of cutting the ropes of the drawbridge with his sword, 
and as he passed down Cannon Street he struck the 
London Stone, crying " Now is Mortimer lord of this 
city." He was careful to keep up an imposing ap- 
pearance, and rode about sword in hand, wearing the 
gilt spurs of a knight, armed with a brigandine and 
gilt head-piece, and clothed in a gown of blue velvet. 
He also had a sword carried in state before him.^ 

The insurgents retired to South wark for the night, 
but re-entered London on the following morning, 
3 July, and proceeded to hunt out the " traitors " 
against whom they had a special grudge. Say and 
Crowmer, whom Henry had left in the Tower, were 
brought forth. The Mayor and justices attempted 
to give Lord Say trial at the Guildhall, but when the 
unfortunate man claimed trial by his peers, Cade's 
men carried him off and beheaded him at the Standard 
in Cheapside. Crowmer, his son-in-law, was decapi- 
tated at Mile End, without Aldgate, " besyde Clopton 
ys Place," ^ whither Cade had gone to join the Essex 

^ Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, i. 283. 

2 Eng. Chron. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed. J. S. Davies), 66. 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 192. 



204 HENRY VI [1450 

men, and the heads of both victims were carried 
about triumphantly on poles. It was then that 
Thomas ^ Bailly was executed at Whitechapel on a 
charge of necromancy, or, as Cade's enemies after- 
wards said, because he knew too much of the Captain's 
past life. 

Up to this time good discipline had been kept in 
spite of these acts of vengeance, but now Cade per- 
mitted himself to plunder the house of Philip Malpas, 
the Lancastrian alderman. Malpas, however, had 
been warned, and escaped with some of his goods. 
Next day, 4 July, Cade made the mistake of permitting 
further robbery, and as a consequence of this the scum 
of the city became attracted to his following, while 
the peaceable and law-abiding citizens became seriously 
alarmed. Had he not done this, as one chronicler 
points out, he " myght have goon fer in the lande, ffor 
the King and all the lordis were departid." ^ On 
5 July, Sunday, the insurgents remained all day at 
their quarters in South wark, but meanwhile the situa- 
tion was changed. The fickle Londoners, afraid for 
their possessions, abandoned their hearty support of 
Cade and appealed for help to Lord Scales and 
Matthew Gough, who held the Tower but hitherto 
had not dared to move. Supported by these troops 
the Londoners at ten in the evening attempted to 
take possession of the bridge, but Cade, calling his 
men to arms, strenuously opposed them. All night 
the battle raged on London Bridge, with no decisive 
result. Matthew Gough, the veteran of the French 

1 Or John. ^ Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 161. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 205 

wars, was killed, and in the end the insurgents fired 
the bridge and withdrew to their quarters south of the 
river. Their next act was to break open the King's 
Bench and Marshalsea Prisons and release the prisoners. 
Cade was excluded from the city, but he was by no 
means defeated. Had London been true to his cause 
he might have accomplished much ; as it was the 
Government was sufficiently impressed by his strength 
to perceive the necessity of treating with him. Arch- 
bishop Kemp, or according to some writers both 
Archbishops, accompanied by William Waynflete, the 
universally respected Bishop of Winchester, were 
appointed to negotiate : Kemp being particularly 
suitable as a Kentish man whose mother came from 
Sussex. The meeting took place in St. Margaret's 
Church, Southwark. The Captain seems to have 
impressed the envoys favourably — he is described as 
" a sotill man." ^ They received his petitions, but 
apparently without committing themselves, and granted 
a free pardon to him (as John Mortimer) and to all his 
followers on condition of their dispersing quietly. 
The insurgents, believing that their object was won, 
took advantage of the pardon and dispersed in large 
numbers. A considerable band, however, seems to 
have remained with Cade at Southwark for some days 
longer ; the Captain is said to have persuaded them 
that their pardons were insufficient without the 
ratification of Parliament, but in any case it was 
more than rash of him to remain in arms. About 
the 8th he went with this company to Rochester, 
1 Eng. Chron. Rich. II to Hen. VI (ed, J, S. Davies), 65. 



206 HENRY VI [1450 

whither the booty they had gained in London was 
shipped by water. On the 9th he led an assault on 
Queenborough Castle, but it was successfully defended 
by Sir Roger Chamberlayn. The Government then 
issued an attainder against the Captain, for the first 
time naming him as John Cade, on the grounds that 
he had levied war subsequent to his pardon, which 
was also declared to be invalid because it was made 
out in the name of Mortimer. A price of a thousand 
marks was put upon his head. Cade returned on the 
11th to Rochester, where a quarrel ensued with some 
of his men over the booty. But he dared not tarry. 
His claim to be Mortimer dissipated, he seemed finally 
to lose hold over his men. He fled in disguise into 
Sussex, to the wooded country near Lewes, but he 
was hotly pursued by the new sheriff, Crowmer's 
successor, Alexander Iden,i who ran him to earth in 
a garden at Heathfield. Cade fought for his life, but 
fortunately for himself under the circumstances, was 
mortally wounded in the struggle and died before Iden 
got him to London. At South wark the corpse was 
exposed at the " Hart " and identified by " the wyffe 
of the house," ^ and on the 15th was delivered to the 
Council by Iden, who subsequently received an annuity 
and was made keeper of Rochester Castle. Cade's 
head, according to the usual barbarous custom, was 
placed on London Bridge, with the face turned towards 
Kent. His corpse, after being drawn through London 

^ Iden afterwards married Crowmer's widow, Elizabeth, daughter 
of Lord Say. 
2 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 194. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 207 

on a hurdle, was distributed in quarters as a warning 
to Blackheath, Norwich, SaUsbury and Gloucester, 
At the time only two of his followers were executed. 
His booty was claimed by the King and sold to the 
original owners, so that the Crown was the gainer in 
the transaction. It was a strange, haphazard collection 
of objects, including, besides many articles of value, 
" one muske-ball to smell at," the " nose of a kandel- 
styk of silver," and a " paire of shetys." ^ 

On 1 August a commission directed by the two 
Archbishops, Waynflete, the Duke of Buckingham and 
others, was appointed to punish the Kentish rebels. 
They sat at Canterbury and executed eight persons, but 
the country was far from being quieted. At the end 
of the month fresh insurrections, on a much smaller 
scale, broke out in Wiltshire and at Faversham, where 
the rising was headed by William Parmynter, a smith, 
who called himself the second Captain of Kent.^ As 
late as October, Somerset, who had returned to England 
about August, was granted a reward for taking " a 
risare ayenst oure pees, oon John Smyth, that called 
himself Capitayne of Kent the which made yere a 
grete gadering of people," He was then sent into 
Kent to restore peace and " chastise ther the contrairie 
labourers therof." ^ 

Let us pause here to examine the state of the country 
at this time — the very middle of the fifteenth century. 
Truly England seems to have reached the low-water 

^ B. B. Orridge, Illustrations of Jack Cade's Rebellion, 36. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), Intro., Ixxxvii. 

^ Proc. of the Privy Council (ed. Sir Harris Nicholas), vi. 10] -2. 



208 HENRY VI [1450 

mark of her history during these years. A period of 
transition must always be attended by dislocation, 
unrest and distress, and England was then in the 
throes of the great transition between mediaeval and 
modern institutions and ideals. All Europe was 
struggling in the darkness of outworn and decajdng 
medisevalism before the dawn of the fresh era which 
was heralded by the Renaissance and the Reformation. 

Perhaps at this moment a weak monarchy and an 
incompetent government were in reality fortunate 
circumstances for the ultimate good of the country. 
Disastrous as the reign of Henry VI appears viewed 
at close quarters, and distressful as it must have been 
for the majority of the people whose unhappy lot it 
was to be living during that period, at this distance 
of time we are able to see its expediency and its true 
place in the history of the nation. 

It was necessary that a great clearance should be 
made. The old institutions had exhausted their 
vitality, were no longer sufficient to cope with the 
needs of the time, and must be swept away or trans- 
formed. A strong monarchy at this point might 
therefore have been a great hindrance to progress. 
Had Henry VI been such a man as his father he would 
probably have thrown all his energies into the task 
of buttressing the old order of things, and would have 
done his best to arrest its decay, A weak rule, on the 
other hand, was powerless to check the forces of dis- 
integration ; the feudal system fell to pieces ; the 
feudal Baronage, whose overweening power could set 
the Government at naught, left to its own devices, 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 209 

destroyed itself and thus did its part in clearing the 
path for the strong and revivifying monarchy of the 
Tudors. 

Poor Henry, serving his country by his very weak- 
ness, perished in the chaos which hastened the birth 
of a new age. 

The main causes of the break-down of the manorial 
system we have already seen,i with the resulting 
decUne of agriculture and the increase of industrial 
pursuits. This for a time caused great distress, for 
the men who had left, or who had been cast out from 
their agricultural pursuits, found their way to industrial 
employment largely barred by the selfish and exclusive 
policy of the Craft Gilds. Many found employment, 
as we shall presently see, in the cloth industry, but a 
large number were without work and became paupers 
or " sturdy vagabonds." Thus even then there existed 
the germs of the modern unemployed problem. Even 
complaints of the employment of aliens were not 
wanting ! The distress must have been great, for 
there were frequent years of bad harvest during the 
reign of Henry VI, and there was no organized system 
of Poor Relief. The ideas of that time did not go beyond 
the occasional foundation of almshouses and hospitals 
for the indigent, and indiscriminate almsgiving for 
the rest. The little pauperism which had occurred 
hitherto had been chiefly dealt with by the monasteries, 
but now, in addition to the increase of need beyond 
their resources, many of these institutions had become 
degenerate and covetous, and neglected the poor 
1 See Chap. I. 



210 HENRY VI [1450 

dependent on them. Pestilence also lingered in the 
towns and broke out from time to time. Then, as 
now, there must have been a terrible contrast between 
the very poor and the great ones of the earth. Prob- 
ably the conditions under which the poor Uved were 
worse than now, for the standard of living and of 
physical comfort was, on the whole, so much lower. 
The nobles were given to excessive luxury and display, 
but, as far as we know, there was no particular ill- 
feeling against them ; a certain generosity and their 
custom of keeping a more or less open house no doubt 
endeared them somewhat to the people. 

Various attempts were made under Henry VI to 
remedy the decay of agriculture, but without much 
success. A statute was made forbidding any land- 
holder who paid less than £20 a year to apprentice 
his children to a trade, but this was afterwards repealed 
for London, where it could hardly be carried out. In 
1436 an attempt was made to keep corn plentiful and 
cheap in the country by prohibiting export unless the 
price had fallen to 65. 8d. a quarter or less. The wages 
of the labourers were supposed to be fixed by the local 
Justices of the Peace according to the price of food, but 
this arrangement did not work well because the rate of 
wages was thus fixed by the employers exclusively, 
and they were not always disinterested in their action. 

The Church, the other great mediaeval institution, 
was failing in its temporal functions. It could no 
longer grapple with pauperism by the old methods, 
and it did not rise to the occasion either in this direction 
or in that of education. The monasteries resisted the 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 211 

visitations of those responsible for their good discipline ; 
monks deserted; their hospitality, which had hitherto 
been extended to all travellers, declined, and their 
place in this respect was taken more and more by the 
inns. Education was neglected, for many of the 
priests were illiterate, but as has been seen, the King 
did his best to remedy this. Too often the parish 
priests were men of low character and attainments, 
and were sometimes even given to brawling and 
assault. Pluralities also were a great evil, so that 
parishes were often entirely without ministry. The 
higher clergy were much absorbed in politics, to the 
neglect of their pastoral duties and the detriment of 
religion. Churchmen, originally because of their 
superior education, had always been accustomed to 
hold high offices of state, and in consequence the 
leaders of the Church tended to become worldly, 
proud and ambitious. A line of prelate politicians, 
such as Cardinal Beaufort, was produced, which 
reached its culmination in Cardinal Wolsey — men who 
were often wise and capable administrators, but who 
nevertheless cannot be described as ideal churchmen. 

Moreover, the Church was bitterly intolerant. 
Lollardism, one of those premature movements herald- 
ing the Reformation, was still smouldering, and all 
through the reign of Henry VI the burning of Lollards 
occurred from time to time. In 1428 the order of the 
Council of 1415 was at length carried out, and Wycliffe's 
bones were disinterred from their grave at Lutterworth 
and burnt. The House of Lancaster prided itself on 
its orthodoxy, and Henry V was extolled because he 



212 HENRY VI [1450 

" to Lollers gave a fall." No freedom of thought nor 
any claim to personal judgment was tolerated. Pecock, 
Bishop of Chichester, the " most enlightened man of 
his age," was degraded and imprisoned for life even 
when he had recanted from the views which offended 
the Church. Toleration and breadth of view were 
alike unknown to the Church of that age. 

The Baronage was arrogant, overweening, and given 
to enormous extravagance and display of wealth. 
With a few exceptions, they placed personal ambition 
and lust for power before the interests of their country. 
Moreover, they shared the lawlessness of the times and 
had no scruple in freely resorting to arms for the 
furtherance of their private quarrels. The reign was 
remarkable for these feuds. To quote a few instances : 
in the North the Nevilles and the Percies, in the West 
Devon and Bonville, and in Bedfordshire Grey and 
Fanhope carried on their private wars with total 
disregard to life and limb and the fate of the unfor- 
tunate inhabitants of the troubled districts. Naturally, 
if the great barons indulged in this conduct, the 
country gentlemen emulated them. Forcible entries 
into each other's houses were frequent, examples of 
which are shown in the Paston Letters. The Barons 
were too strong for a stable monarchy. They had 
accumulated enormous stretches of territory ; the Earl 
of Warwick, for example, in addition to his immense 
roll of manors, held some thirteen castles — more than 
it was wise for any one subject to be entrusted with. 
The French wars, while slightly thinning their ranks, 
gave them a taste for warfare. Their natural following 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 213 

of villeins having greatly diminished, they maintained 
huge companies of hired retainers, who wore the lord's 
livery and badge, and expected in return to have their 
rights maintained by him against their enemies. They 
even expected him to interfere in lawsuits in their 
favour, and hence the practice of " livery and main- 
tenance " led to the destruction of justice and the 
disquieting of the peace. These companies of retainers, 
although largely recruited from the country gentlemen, 
also absorbed many disbanded soldiers and other 
wanderers who were unwilling to settle down to a 
peaceful occupation. Lideed in 1429 it became 
necessary to pass a statute against the reception of 
evildoers and lawless characters into the households 
of the lords. Owing to the great increase of their 
followings the Barons had enough to do to maintain 
discipline in their households, and on the other hand 
the Sheriffs had some difficulty in raising the proper 
levies for the King when necessary. 

The navy, which has already been glanced at,i was 
most inadequate. It was not used in those days as a 
threat to other nations, but was a practical necessity 
to protect trading vessels, and even the very coasts 
of England, from the outrages of piracy. The state 
of affairs is set forth in the " Libell of English Policy," 
a political poem written about 1436, which is one long 
exhortation to — 

" Cherish merchandise, keep the admiralty, 
That we be masters of the narrow sea." ^ 

^ See above, pp. 134 and 135. 

2 Wright, Political Poems and Songs (Rolls Ser.), ii. 158. 



214 HENRY VI [1450 

Special complaints were made then of a pirate named 
Hankyne Lyons, and also of Breton pirates who had 
actually " robbed, burnt and slain " on the coast of 
Norfolk and put towns to ransom. It was also 
pointed out that it was in the interests of trade to 
keep the " narrow seas " — the Straits of Dover — for 
thus the great trading centre of Flanders would be 
cut off from Spain, Portugal, and the Italian merchants 
of Genoa, Venice and Florence. The Prussian mer- 
chants and the Hansards were in the same position, 
and even the Scots had to pass the English coasts. 
This was the more important because the overland 
routes were largely interfered with by the French War. 
Incidentally the writer expresses a contempt for the 
goods brought from Venice and Florence, being spices 
and wasteful trifles such as " apes and japes and 
marmusettes taylede," which took gold out of the 
country for no good purpose. These men also indulged 
in the disreputable occupation of money-lending. 

It is also urged in this poem that the English should 

" take hede 
To kepe Irelond, that it be not loste; 
For it is a boterasse and a poste 
Under England, and Wales another." 

Finally, after emphasizing the great importance of 
keeping Calais safe, the writer once more reiterates 
the urgency of keeping the sea — 

"Whiche of England is the rounde walle . . . 
As thoughe England were lykened to a cit6 . 
And the walle environn were the see." 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 215 

The country, however, was too distracted during 
this and succeeding reigns to give much attention to 
these exhortations, and it was not until the following 
century that the matter was really taken in hand. 

At the head of this tottering state was an incompetent 
government whose ranks were filled by favouritism. 
Its hold upon the country had naturally been weakened 
by the evils of a long minority, a situation in which 
it was difficult for a body of men such as the Council 
to make their authority felt as efficiently as was the 
case when a responsible monarch was at the head of 
affairs. But when Henry came to rule the situation 
was even worse, for a king who was fitted pre-eminently 
to become a monk, absorbed in study and devotion, 
influenced in turn by every minister who secured a 
prominent position, and altogether under the sway 
of his impulsive young wife, could not hope to save 
his country or his crown. 

Parhament, owing to the ease with which elections 
could be manipulated, was used as a party tool — a 
proceeding which was all the easier because when it 
came to a conflict the country seemed to have no 
decided opinion either way ; either it did not know 
its own mind or was strangely apathetic. Occasionally 
Parhament did assert itself — for instance, when it 
obliged the King to resume the Crown lands — but 
Henry had a way of evading its mandates by asserting 
a right to make exceptions, or, in the case of condem- 
nation of persons, claiming a right to pardon them 
according to his discretion. He was not, however, 
habitually high-handed in his dealings with it, 



216 HENRY VI [1450 

Over the Council he could have had absolute control, 
for from 1437 onwards he exclusively began to nom- 
inate it. Had he been self-assertive it would have 
been an instrument in his hands ; it was used instead 
by the Queen and her friends for their own ends. 

Although the people loved Henry at first for his 
gentleness and saintliness, yet they could not for ever 
forgive the misgovernment for which he was at least 
nominally responsible. Again, his retiring manners 
put him at a disadvantage in gaining popularity, and 
most of the towns — notably London — remained in- 
different to his successes or disasters. It argues, 
however, a callousness in the country that a man 
of so saintly a character was allowed to come to 
so miserable an end. The fate of Jeanne d'Arc also 
shows the mingled superstition and ferocity of the 
times. It was indeed an age of violence, confusion 
and faithlessness, for it is noticeable with what fre- 
quency men changed sides in the struggle of the Civil 
War, and how they broke their most solemn oaths 
without any great outcry being raised. 

Mediaeval chivalry was dying out. The ornamental 
side survived for some time in gorgeous tournaments, 
but the changed methods of warfare had administered 
its death-blow, and its serious and valuable side 
vanished in the lax morality of the age. 

In all directions mediseval ideals were giving way 
before modern ideas — not always a change for the 
better. Under the old system the price of an article 
had been determined by the cost of production ; what 
was considered a reasonable charge being made, and 



1450] JACK CADES REBELLION 217 

a fair wage allowed in proportion. Now for the first 
time the idea of competitive prices arose, and the old 
" just " price tended to disappear — also the suitable 
wage. Another contingency, which arose from the 
increase of trade and manufacture, was the necessity 
for borrowing capital . Usury had always been regarded 
as " I'orrible and abhominable vice," and it was 
considered a sinful thing to receive back more than 
had been lent, unless the lender had been put to serious 
inconvenience for want of the money and thus required 
some compensation. A change of opinion, however, 
had gradually crept in ; the statute against usury was 
evaded in various ingenious ways, and gradually the 
odium attaching to the charging of interest on loans 
disappeared. Englishmen ventured to engage in a 
traffic hitherto left to the despised Jews and the 
Lombards. 

At the same time a great idea of the value of money 
grew up, both as regards actual bullion, and also the 
possession of wealth. It was considered most undesira- 
ble to let gold go out of the country. The financiers 
of the time were possessed by the idea that exports 
and imports were actually paid for in money, and that, 
therefore, unless the exports — the things sold — exceeded 
the imports — the things bought — the country would be 
drained of its gold. 

Moreover, it now became possible to rise socially by 
means of the acquisition of wealth. Hitherto noble 
birth and the possession of land had been the 
principal claim to respect, but now the successful 
trader or merchant could buy land and acquire social 



218 HENRY VI [1450 

standing. Owing to the great expensiveness of living 
amongst the nobles, they were sometimes even glad 
to marry the daughter of a rich merchant and thus fill 
their empty coffers. This in itself shows a certain 
breaking down of rigid class distinctions, and the 
introduction of a new feature in the rise of a middle 
class. 

The great increase of leasehold tenure, which as we 
have seen was one of the results of the decay of the 
Feudal System, made possible the rise of a class of 
free, and for the most part prosperous farmers — the 
yeomanry — who became such a valuable part of the 
population. The terms of the leases tended to grow 
longer and longer, and thus the farmers became estab- 
lished upon their holdings. In the freer conditions of 
trade and industry outside the Gilds it was also 
possible for men to rise to a comfortable position 
more easily than had formerly been the case. 

Indeed, the condition of the country was not without 
hopeful elements. Side by side with the agricultural 
depression was the flourishing cloth industry, which, 
being little hampered by the restrictions of a Gild, was 
developing in new directions. The selfish and exclusive 
policy of the Craft Gilds led to a certain scattering of 
industry, to escape from their control and find more 
favourable conditions for working. Eventually this 
even led to the rise of new towns and the decay of the 
old ones. 

Many of the various processes of cloth-making were 
adapted to domestic industry, and this brought about 
great changes. Cloth-weaving could be done in the 



1450J JACK CADE'S REBELLION 219 

home, either as the sole means of livelihood, or to 
eke out the profits of farming. The women of the 
household were able to do spinning and carding to 
supply the weavers. The numbers of people thus 
employed either sold their goods to a middleman, or 
were sometimes employed in large numbers by a 
capitalist, who sold the finished products, and was 
known as a " clothier." This new organisation of 
industry was just becoming general in the middle of 
the fifteenth century. In 1434 the Burgundian alliance 
with England was broken up, and the export of EngUsh 
cloth and wool to Flanders ceased. The industry, 
however, does not seem to have seriously suffered, for 
the export of cloth steadily increased, while that of 
wool correspondingly decreased, resulting, as we have 
noticed, in a fall in the produce of the wool duty. So 
highly was English cloth esteemed that Henry VI, 
when desiring the Pope to grant privileges to Eton, 
sent him a present of the best cloth of England. 

As another consequence of the rise of the cloth 
manufacture, the Staplers, the ancient organization 
of merchants who dealt in wool and raw materials, 
having their market at Calais, began to decline. The 
great League of the Hansards was also losing some of 
its power and activity at this time, for it was engaged 
in a conflict with the Danes. Consequently a rival 
body, the Merchant Adventurers, began to supersede 
the older organizations, and now became important. 
The Merchant Adventurers, who dealt in cloth and 
manufactured goods, had their chief centre of trade 
at Antwerp. They were, moreover, a Regulated 



220 HENRY VI [1450 

Company, and therefore national in feeling rather than 
municipal, as the older merchants had been. Other 
new Merchant Companies also began to arise. These 
were at first confined to trading in stated articles of 
commerce ; afterwards within definite limits without 
specification of goods, but later they obtained more 
freedom. The most noticeable of these was the 
Drapers Company, who held a weekly market for cloth 
in London. Thus a new field was being opened for 
those who had left agriculture and were unable to 
enter the ordinary Craft Gilds. 

Measures were also taken to check the import of 
manufactured goods and encourage home industry ; 
for instance in 1455 measures were taken to protect 
the trade in manufactured silk, and as a consequence 
the importation of silk by the Lombards and others 
from Italy was prohibited. The manufacture of silk 
was an industry which seems to have been largely in 
the hands of women. 

It must not be forgotten either trhat this was the 
century of ' Perpendicular ' Architecture, the last of the 
Gothic styles and the most exclusively English. To 
the prosperity of the cloth industry of this time many 
of the beautiful churches of this date in England 
must have been due. 

The monasteries were neglecting their duties, but 
on every side other bodies were taking up their func- 
tions. The great interest taken by Henry VI in 
education, and the many educational establishments 
founded during his reign, has been noticed in another 
chapter. Grammar schools became general all over 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 221 

the country, and in addition to this it was becoming 
far more common for Gilds, burgesses, and even rich 
individuals to found almshouses, hospitals and other 
public institutions. The laity were beginning to take 
upon themselves the functions which were let slip by 
the monks and the absentee parish priests. 

Such was the general situation in England in the 
summer of 1450. 

The insurrection of Cade, by its failure to secure 
the much-needed reforms for which the insurgents 
petitioned — for no attention was paid to the professed 
reception of Cade's Articles — caused men to turn still 
more towards the Duke of York in the hope of obtain- 
ing help from him against the continued bad govern- 
ment, and called fresh attention to his unfair exclusion 
from a voice in the affairs of the country. In this way 
the rebellion was a step further in the progress of 
events towards the Civil War. 

At this juncture York — who is described as a short 
man, inclined to stoutness, with a somewhat square 
face 1 — took the sudden step of announcing his return 
from Ireland, leaving James, Earl of Ormond, in 
charge there. About the same time Henry made the 
fatal mistake of recalling Somerset from Calais, where 
he had taken refuge after his expulsion from Caen, 
and installing him in the place of Suffolk. This action 
shows an utter lack of comprehension of the country's 
feehngs on the part of the King and Queen and their 
friends, for if Suffolk had been hated as the " traitor 
who sold away Maine," upon Somerset fell all the 
^ Oman, Warwick the King-maker, 41. 



222 HENRY VI [1450 

odium of the loss of Normandy. Yet Henry on 
11 September appointed him Constable of England, 
and sent him on a commission to pacify Kent. 

York, of course, had no right to throw up his com- 
mand in Ireland, but his motives seem to have been 
solely to assert his right to a voice in the government 
for the purpose of combating the misrule of the King's 
favourites. " AUe the Kinges howshold was aferd 
ryght sore," ^ and such was the panic in the Council at 
the idea of his coming that orders were issued to arrest 
him on landing. York, however, reached Wales, 
evaded Stanley and Lisle, who had been sent to meet 
him, and collected a large body of men from the Welsh 
marches. He considered that the time had come to 
assert his right to a share in public affairs and to strike 
a blow at his enemy Somerset, and he therefore " sharp- 
ened as lightning his sword, and taking justice into his 
own hands " ^ proceeded towards London in the month 
of September 1450. At St. Albans York met with 
Sir Thomas Hoo, and bloodshed was with difficulty 
averted, but finally the Duke reached London without 
any actual disturbance. Upon being admitted to the 
King's presence he boldly complained of the resistance 
offered to his journey, whereupon Henry meekly 
apologized for wishing to arrest him, and promised 
that in future the Duke should have his due share in the 
government. York took the opportunity of emphasiz- 
ing the necessity for reform in the administration of 
justice and for the banishment of " traitors." " Please 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 150, let. 113. 

* Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), 161. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 223 

it your Highness," he said in his petition, " tenderly 
to consider the great grudging and rumour that is 
universally in this your realm of that justice is not 
duly ministered to such as trespass and offend against 
your laws, and especially of them that are indited of 
treason, . . . wherefore I, your humble subject and 
liegeman Richard, Duke of York, willing as effectually 
as I can, and desiring surety and prosperity of your 
most royal person and welfare of this your noble 
realm, counsel and advise your excellence . . . for to 
ordain and provide that due justice be had against all 
such that be so indited or openly so noised : wherein I 
offer, and will put me in devoir for to execute your com- 
mandments in these premises of such offenders, and 
redress of the said misrulers to my might and power." ^ 

Having made his expostulation York retired to 
Fotheringay to await the opening of Parliament, while 
the King withdrew " summe men sey to Fysshwick ^ 
summe say to Bristowe," ^ and summoned all his 
attendants to accompany him at the opening of Parlia- 
ment " in their best aray." 

Parliament met in November, in an atmosphere of 
general uneasiness. The lords came up to London with 
large retinues, so that the houses were " hugely stuffed " * 
with people. Norfolk collected a large company to 
support York, John Paston being summoned among 
them, " with as many clenly people as ye may gete for 

'^ Paston Letters (ed, Gairdner), i. 153, let. 114. 

2 Near Preston, Lanes. 

3 Bristol: Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), p. 157, let. 117. 
* Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 62G. 



224 HENRY VI [1450 

oure worship at this tyme." ^ A serious struggle 
between York and Somerset was looked for. 

The two rivals were indeed in a curious position. 
The King had been married five years and had no child, 
and since Gloucester's death it had hardly been clear 
who was the nearest heir to the throne. The three 
brothers of Henry V, the Dukes of Clarence, Bedford 
and Gloucester, had all died without leaving descend- 
ants. The only other Lancastrian family was that of 
John Beaufort, legitimatized son of John of Gaunt 
and Catherine Swynford. Beaufort's elder son John, 
Earl of Somerset, who died in 1444, had left an infant 
daughter Margaret,^ while his brother and male heir 
was the present Edmund, Duke of Somerset. The 
heirship to the throne would therefore have devolved 
upon him, but Henry IV, although he legitimatized 
his half-brothers the Beauforts, took great pains to 
disqualify them and their descendants from inheriting 
the throne by an Act of Parliament of 1407. This 
statute would therefore have to be repealed before 
Somerset could be recognized as the heir-apparent. 
On the other hand, Richard of York was descended in 
direct legitimate male line from Edmund, younger 
brother of John of Gaunt, and, moreover, through his 
mother, was the heir of the elder brother of John of 
Gaunt — Lionel, Duke of Clarence — the claim of whose 
descendants had been passed over by Henry IV. 
The Beauforts had the Court on their side, but the 
people were b ginning to turn to York in the hope that he 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 162, let. 121. 

2 It was this Margaret who became the mother of Henry VII. 



1450] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 225 

would champion their cause for better government, 
and already his position was strong enough to be 
dangerous. The following gained by the Captain who 
took the name of Mortimer had ominously shown the 
trend of the people's feeling. 

The House of Commons which assembled in Novem- 
ber 1450 was strongly Yorkist in feeling, for York and 
his friends, justifying the complaints of Cade, had done 
their utmost to influence the elections. 

" Right trusti and welbelovid," wrote Norfolk to 
John Paston, " we grete you well. And forasmoche 
as oure unkill of York and we have fully appoynted 
and agreed of such ij persones for to be knightes of the 
shire of Norffolk as oure said unkill and we thinke 
convenient and necessarie for the welfare of the said 
shire, we therefor pray you, in oure said unkill name 
and oures bothe, as ye list to stonde in the favour 
of oure good Lordshipp, that ye make no laboure 
contrarie to oure desire." ^ 

The Commons duly elected Sir William Oldhall, one 
of York's followers, as speaker. Cardinal Kemp tried 
to divert their attention from party issues by pointing 
out the urgent need of sending reinforcements to hold 
Guienne, but his efforts were vain. Relations grew 
more and more strained. On 1 December a mob of 
Yorkists and Londoners assaulted Somerset, and he 
would have been killed had not the Earl of Devon 
succeeded in carrying him off in his barge. The mob 
consoled itself by plundering the Duke',s^Jodgings at 
Blackfriars, and on the following day sacked those of 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 160, let. 119. 
Q 



226 HENRY VI [1450-1 

Sir Thomas Todenham, Sir Thomas Hoo, and Lord 
Hastings. On the 3rd, the King and his lords rode 
through the city in armour as a demonstration to 
promote order, after which Henry went to Greenwich 
to keep his birthday (6 December). On this occasion 
he created his half-brothers Edmund and Jasper Tudor 
Earls respectively of Richmond and Pembroke, and 
at the same time knighted Thomas and John Neville, 
younger sons of Salisbury, doubtless to please the 
Yorkists. The unfortunate King, however, was 
obliged after this function to borrow money to pay 
his expenses for Christmas. 

During the Christmas recess Henry, fearing for his 
favourite, and also thinking that he saw a solution of 
the difficult situation, appointed Somerset Captain 
of Calais, evidently considering that he would be at a 
safe distance there. York he took with him into Kent 
to try the remainder of the insurgents. This time they 
were rigorously dealt with; "there were dampnyde 
many men" at Canterbury, and nine at Rochester; 
and " the same yere stode at ones xiii hedis on London 
brige " ^ — a sight which must have distressed the 
gentle Henry — wherefore, says the chronicler, " men 
calle hyt in Kente the harvyste of hedys." 

But these expedients were of no use. In January 
1451 Parliament returned to the charge with fresh 
zest and demanded the banishment of thirty of the 
Court favourites, including Somerset, the Duchess of 
Suffolk, Lords Dudley and Hastings, the Abbot of 
Gloucester (whom York had imprisoned on his way to 
^ Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (ed. Gairdner), 69. 



1451J JACK CADE'S REBELLION 227 

London), and Daniel, Say and Trevilian, against whom 
Cade and his followers had petitioned. The King 
consented to dismiss some of them for a year, but little 
good came of it. 

The Commons also demanded a fresh resumption of 
the Crown lands and possessions, pointing out that the 
King was £372,000 in debt, which was indeed serious, 
that his income was only £5000, whereas his household 
expenses amounted to £24,000 yearly. Therefore, they 
urged the King, it would be "to you full honourable, 
necessarie and behovefull, and to all youre Liege people 
comfortable " if, with a few exceptions, a full resump- 
tion was made.^ Henry, who when previously asked 
to do this, had made an immense number of exceptions, 
was now prevailed upon to reduce these to about a 
third of the former amount, so that it is probable that 
his income was really increased by this action. 

In May there was a fresh development; one of the 
members of Parliament committing a great indiscretion. 
Thomas Yonge of Bristol, " apprentice in law," peti- 
tioned that for the security of the realm Richard of 
York should be declared heir-apparent. This bold 
petition actually obtained a majority in the Commons 
but was opposed by the House of Lords. The King 
dissolved Parliament on 10 June, and the rash petitioner 
was, most unjustly, sent to the Tower. 

Unrest continued. Devon and Bonville, after keeping 

the peace for several years, again flew to arms and 

caused a great disturbance in the west, for Devon laid 

siege to Bonville in the castle of Tamiton and was only 

^ Rolls of Parliament, v. 219. 



228 HENRY VI U51-2J 

persuaded to desist by the intervention of the Duke 
of York. There was also a " riotous fellowship " in 
Norfolk. The King spent the summer in diligently 
and laboriously visiting the disturbed parts, Kent, 
Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Northampton, Leicester 
and Coventry. 

York meanwhile seems to have been making pre- 
parations for a fresh demonstration. In December he 
pledged some jewels to Sir John Fastolf, and in January 
1452 he thought it well to issue a manifesto protesting 
his loyalty to the King, to counteract the slanders of 
his enemies. On 3 February he issued a manifesto 
from his castle of Ludlow to the men of Shrewsbury, 
frankly asking for their help to remove Somerset. 
" I signify unto you," he said, " that, with the help and 
supportation of Almighty God, and of Our Lady, and 
of all the Company of Heaven, I, after long sufferance 
and delays, though it is not my will or intent to dis- 
please my sovereign lord, seeing that the said Duke 
ever prevaileth'and ruleth about the King's person, and 
that by this means the land is likely to be destroyed, 
am fully concluded to proceed in all haste against him 
with the help of my kinsmen and friends." ^ 

Accompanied by Devon and Cobham and the force 
thus raised, York set out for London. Henry, with 
more spirit than one would expect of him, summoned 
his lords and set out to meet the Duke, but the latter 
contrived to avoid him and marched on towards 
London. Instead of entering the city, however, he 

1 Orig. Letters Illustrative of English History (ed. Sir Henry Ellis), 
Ser. III. 11-13. 



1462] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 229 

turned aside into Kent, crossing the river at Kingston, 
doubtless hoping that that turbulent county would 
give him support. He encamped at Dartford, whither 
the King followed him and on 1 March took up a 
position on Blackheath, between the Yorkists and 
London. Henry then opened negotiations, sending 
the Bishop of Ely, Richard Woodville, and Richard 
Andrew as envoys. He offered to pardon York and 
all his following for taking up arms if the Duke would 
make peace with his enemy and not attempt to avenge 
himself : he also promised that full justice should be 
done him for any injuries he might have received, if 
he would put rancour aside and depend upon the law 
to avenge his wrongs in a lawful way. York hesitated, 
feeling a difficulty in depending upon a king so easily 
influenced, and who probably would think that his 
injuries hardly came within the scope of the law, and 
he refused to disband his host unless Somerset were 
arrested and brought to judgment. He formally 
accused Somerset of the responsibility for the loss of 
Normandy, both by the breaking of the truce and after- 
wards by neglect of duty, and the surrender of towns 
without need; and also of being the cause of " grete 
hurte, robbery, manslauter, and other myscheves 
daily done and contynued in this youre roialme."^ 

After considerable discussion by the envoys of both 
sides, York was given to understand that his condition 
was accepted and that Somerset was to be committed 
to ward. Richard then at once dismissed his men and 
came to Henry's tent. But to his astonishment and 
^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), I. cxxii. 



230 HENRY VI [1452 

consternation he found Somerset still there in attend- 
ance on the King. Evidently he had been duped. 
Who was responsible for this breach of faith we do not 
know; perhaps the King's envoys acted without his 
full sanction, or Henry allowed himself to be over- 
persuaded by Margaret. York found himself in a 
most trying position, and was obliged to adopt a humble 
attitude ; but he had been delivered into the hands of 
his adversary, and on their return to London he was 
made to ride before the King " like as he should have 
been put in holde." ^ Upon coming to St. Paul's he 
was compelled to take a solemn oath never again to 
call together any body of men without the King's 
commandment or licence, nor to do, or suffer any one 
else to do, anything against the King's estate, nor to 
commit any breach of the peace. ^ Having thus sworn 
he was set at liberty, for even Somerset dared not take 
strong measures against so dangerously popular a man. 

Peace being outwardly restored, Henry spent the 
remainder of the year in making Royal progresses, in 
the summer through the South and West, and in the 
autumn through the Midlands. 

Attention was further diverted from party quarrels 
at this moment by the critical state of affairs in France, 
an account of which has been given in the previous 
chapter. 

Parliament met at Reading in March 1453, and being 
strongly Lancastrian in feeling reinstated Somerset 
and all his colleagues in office, while York, in the 

1 Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), p. 163. 

2 For this oath see Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), I. cxvi-cxVii, 



1453] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 231 

picturesque language of Abbot Whethampsted, " cover- 
ing the little sparks of hatred under the ashes of 
dissimulation," ^ remained quiescent. 

The Baronage, however, continued their turbulent 
ways unchecked. The Percies and the Nevilles caused 
great trouble in the North, so that on 27 July Salisbury 
was commanded to do his utmost to put down the 
assemblies and riotous gatherings of people with which 
his son John and others were harrying the peace of 
Yorkshire. Early in August the Percies received a 
similar exhortation to abstain from conduct which 
gave rise to " irreparable inconvenience." ^ In the 
same month, however, Sir Thomas Neville, brother of 
John, proceeded into Lincolnshire to celebrate his 
marriage with Maud Stanhope, the niece of Lord 
Cromwell ; and on his way back, falling in with Egre- 
mont and his brother, members of the rival house of 
Percy, and being doubtless in an exalted frame of 
mind, he fell upon them at Castleton in Yorkshire 
and a pitched battle ensued. It was some time before 
peace was restored in the north, but at the beginning 
of October the Council was able to thank the Earl of 
Westmoreland and the Bishop of Durham ^ for their 
diligence in repressing unlawful gatherings. Finally 
letters were sent to the Earls of Northumberland and 
Salisbury reminding each of them that "at al tymes 
before this ye have be[en]holde a sadde, a sober, and 
a wel reuled man, as it sitteth you in al wyse to 

1 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), 1G3. 

2 Proc. of the Privy Council (ed. Sir Harris Nicholas), vi. 149. 
^ Robert Neville, Salisbury's brother. 



232 HENRY VI [1453 

be," 1 and warning them that if they did not keep their 
famihes in order they should be "so chastised that 
bothe ye and thay and al other oure subgittes shal have 
matier and cause to eschewe to attempte anything 
like her after." ^ 

During this summer, probably about the second 
week in August, a fresh calamity overtook the un- 
fortunate Henry. While at Clarendon, " by a sudden 
and thoughtless fright," ^ the King was seized with a 
strange malady, resembling that of his grandfather 
Charles VI of France, and for eighteen months " he 
was so lacking in understanding and memory and so 
incapable that he was neither able to walk upon his 
feet nor to lift up his head, nor well to move himself 
from the place where he was seated." * The unhappy 
King remained at Clarendon until the beginning of 
October, when he was moved by slow stages to West- 
minster, and later to Windsor. 

But on 13 October a momentous event took place. 
On this day a son was born to Queen Margaret at West- 
minster and named Edward. The child was christened 
by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, Somerset 
and Cardinal Kemp being his godfathers, and the 
Duchess of Buckingham his godmother. Edward's 
birth occurred at an unfortunate juncture for Margaret, 
for, Henry being unable on account of his illness to 
give the child recognition, her enemies did not scruple 

1 Proc. of the Privy Council (ed. Sir Harris Nicholas), vi. 159. 

2 Ibid., vi. 161. 

3 Chron. Ang. de regnis trium regum Lane. (ed. J. A. Giles), 
pt. iv. 44. 

« Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls Ser.), i. 163. 



1453-4] JACK CADE'S REBELLION 233 

to circulate slander, for which, however, there does not 
appear to have been the least ground. 

The Queen managed to keep the affairs of govern- 
ment in abeyance until the next year. Public know- 
ledge of the King's illness seems to have been vague, 
and doubtless it was hoped that he would quickly 
recover. The appointment of a " suitable Council " 
was promised in case of need, but for the present nothing 
was done. 

In January 1454 an effort was made to get Henry 
to recognise his son. The infant, now three months 
old, was brought to Windsor, whither Henry had been 
removed, and " the Due of Buk' toke liym in his 
armes and presented hym to the Kyng in godely wise, 
besechyng the Kyng to bhsse hym ; and the Kyng 
yave no maner answere. Natheless the Duk abode 
stille with the Prince by the Kyng ; and whan he coude 
no maner answere have, the Queene come in, and toke 
the Prince in hir armes and presented hym in like 
forme as the Duke had done, desiryng that he shuld 
blisse it ; but alle their labour was in veyne, for they 
departed thens without any answere or countenaunce 
savyng only that ones he loked on the Prince and caste 
doune his eyene ayen, without any more." ^ 

The birth of this prince brought a great alteration 
in the political situation. York was no longer heir 
to the throne, and therefore no longer had the same 
right to interfere in the affairs of the country as when 
he was the first prince in the kingdom. If he had 
ambitions the Lancastrian dynasty now lay between 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 263, let. 195. 



234 HENRY VI [1454 

him and their fuljBlment ; he was obliged to pose solely 
as the champion of reform in the government on his 
own merits. In future the supporters of York's 
fitness either to be Henry's successor or supplanter 
had to contemplate the removal of the Lancastrian 
house — a revolution instead of an adjustment — and 
York could no longer claim the throne without treason- 
able rebellion. Moreover, in future Margaret had to be 
reckoned with as a mother, a capacity in which she 
developed new and unsuspected qualities. 



CHAPTER VII 
1454-1458 : York's campaign against somerset 

AND THE king's SECOND ILLNESS 

The only tenable position for the Duke of York 
in this changed situation was to take up the attitude 
of leader of the party determined on administrative 
reform for the true good of the country. There was 
now a life between him and the succession to the 
Crown, and we may believe that at this period he 
put the hope of ruling far from him and devoted 
himself to disinterested efforts. 

At first it seemed as though his task would be easy, 
for Somerset without the King's support behind him 
was helpless, and the King was at present without 
the use of his faculties. As early as November 1453 
York's faithful ally, the Duke of Norfolk, had demanded 
the impeachment of Somerset, on the grounds that 
the final loss of Guienne that summer had supplied 
a justification of the former charges against him. 
Norfolk made an earnest appeal to the Council for 
true and impartial judgment of the case, pointing out 
that Somerset's offences were so serious that " for 
any favour of lineage nor for any other cause there 
should be no dissimulation . . . lest that others in 
time coming take example thereof, and lest that the 

235 



236 HENRY VI [1454 

full noble virtue of justice, that of God is so greatly 
recommended, be extinct or quenched by the false 
opinions of some, that, for the great bribes that the 
said Duke of Somerset hath promised and given them, 
have turned their hearts from the way of truth and 
justice, some saying that the cases by him committed 
be but cases of trespass. Whereof every man that 
is true to the said Crown ought greatly to marvel, 
that any man would say that the loss of two so noble 
duchies as Normandy and Guienne, that be well 
worth a great royaume, coming by succession of 
fathers and mothers to the said Crown, is but trespass." ^ 
Accordingly about the end of November the accused 
was committed to the Tower to await trial, and there 
he remained for more than a year, while his master's 
illness dragged its slow course. 

The Parliament which met in the autumn of 1453 
had been prorogued by Margaret until the following 
February, in the hopes that the King would recover, 
but as poor Henry showed no signs of doing so it 
became evident that something must be done. In 
January 1454, therefore, Margaret put forward the 
demand that the government of the country should 
be entrusted to her, that she should have power to 
appoint the Chancellor, the Treasurer, the Privy Seal, 
and other officials, including the sheriffs, who were 
usually appointed by the King, and also that she 
should be permitted to nominate holders of Bishoprics 
and all other benefices in the King's gift. The Council 
however, quietly put aside these requests; the Queen 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 260, let. 191. 



1454] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 237 

had so identified herself with Somerset and his party 
that she probably shared some of his mipopularity. 

Meanwhile the Lords, foreseeing a struggle, were 
busily collecting and arming their retainers. Even 
the old Archbishop Kemp " charged and commaunded 
alle his servaunty to be redy." ^ The Earl of Wiltshire 
and Lord Bonville called for recruits in the West at 
the wage of Qd. a day. Exeter swore alliance with 
Egremont, the hereditary foe of the Nevilles, and, with 
the Lords Beaumont, Clifford and Poynings, " made 
all the puissance they could." The Duke of Bucking- 
ham lavishly ordered 2000 of his badges, " to what 
entent men may construe as their wittes yeve theym." ^ 
The Lancastrian courtiers begged the Lords to provide 
a garrison at Windsor to guard the King and Prince. 
York, with his little son the Earl of March, and the 
Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, came up to London 
towards the end of January, each bringing an immense 
retinue ; Salisbury with 140 knights and squires 
besides other attendants, Warwick with a thousand men 
besides his immediate household accompanying him. 
Somerset, in spite of the fact that he was imprisoned, 
is said to have had disguised spies in every great 
household. 

The Mayor, anxious to preserve the peace, ordered 
that " waytes " or watchmen should perambulate 
the streets every night with minstrels, to keep the 
citizens in good humour and prevent robbery.^ The 
Londoners for their part, being desirous of ingrati- 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 264, let. 195. ^ /j^-^, 

3 Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 290. 



238 HENRY VI [U54 

ating themselves with both sides, paid ceremonious 
visits, clad in their scarlet gowns, to both York and 
the Queen. 1 

On 13 February Parliament was opened by York 
as the King's Lieutenant, and nothing but his wise 
moderation prevented an outbreak of actual hostilities. 
He discreetly assented to the proposal that the infant 
Edward should be created Prince of Wales, and was 
present when this was accomplished on 15 March. 

On the same day the Council agreed to the appoint- 
ment of John Arundell, John Faceby and WUham 
Hatclyff, physicians, and Robert Wareyn and John 
Marchall, surgeons, to wait upon the King for his 
health. They were fully empowered to moderate his 
diet according to their discretion, to freely administer 
powders, waters, potions, syrups, confections and 
laxative medicines, in whatever form they pleased 
and to treat the unfortunate Henry with injections, 
pills, purges, gargles, baths, poultices, fomentations, 
embrocations, shaving of the head, anointing, and 
cupping, as they thought desirable.'^ According to 
a writer of the time the King showed some sUght 
signs of being relieved, but the improvement was not 
sustained. 

On 23 March a deputation, consisting of the Bishops 
of Winchester, Ely and Chester, the Earls of Warwick, 
Oxford and Shrewsbury, Viscounts Beaumont and 
Bourchier, the Prior of St. John's, and Lords Faucon- 
berg, Dudley and Stourton, was sent to Windsor to 

^ Sharpe, Loiidon and the Kingdom, 291. 

2 Proc. of the Privy Council (ed. Sir Harris Nicholas), vL 166-7. 



1454] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 239 

see if the King could be got to reply to certain questions 
on affairs of state. The last hopes of the Lancastrian 
party were, however, frustrated, as appears in the 
long account of the visit entered upon the RoUs of 
Parliament. On 25 March the Bishop of Winchester 
reported to the Council on behalf of the deputation 
that on 23 March they were " at the King's high 
presence and in the place where he dined; and anon 
after his dinner was done the said matters were opened 
and declared by the mouth of the Bishop of Chester, 
right cunningly, sadly and worshipfully. . . . And 
then, forasmuch as it Uked not the King's Highness 
to give any answer to the Articles, the said Bishop 
of Chester by the advice of all the other Lords declared 
and opened to the King's Highness the other matters 
contamed in the said instruction; to the which 
matters, nor to any of them, they could get no 
answer nor sign, for no prayer nor desire, lament- 
able cheer nor exhortation, nor anything that they 
or any of them could do or say, to their great 
sorrow and discomfort. And then the Bishop of 
Winchester said to the King's Highness that the Lords 
had not dined, but they should go dine them and 
wait upon his Highness again after dinner. And so 
after dinner they came to the King's Highness in the 
same place where they were before ; and there they 
moved and stirred him by all the ways and means 
that they could think to have answer of the matters 
aforesaid, but they could have none ; and from that 
place they willed the King's Highness to go into 
another chamber, and so he was led between two men 



240 HENRY VI [1454 

into the chamber where he Heth ; and there the Lords 
moved and stirred the King's Highness the third 
time, by all the means and ways that they could 
think, to have answer of the said matters, and also 
desired to have knowledge of him if it should like his 
Highness that they should wait upon him any longer 
and to have answer at his leisure, but they could 
have no answer, word nor sign; and therefore with 
sorrowful hearts came their way." ^ 

With poor Henry in this sad condition there was 
nothing for it but to appoint a provisional Government, 
and accordingly on 27 March Richard of York was 
appointed Protector and Defender of the Realm, until 
Prince Edward should be of age — a position similar 
to that of Gloucester during Henry's minority. York 
was extremely careful to have his position exactly 
defined, but when once established he lost no time in 
strengthening his ministry. On 22 March the Chan- 
cellor — the Cardinal Archbishop Kemp — had died, 
thus leaving two great ofifices vacant. The post of 
Chancellor was filled by Salisbury, Richard's brother- 
in-law, and Thomas Bourchier, Bishop of Ely, who 
was also connected with York,^ was raised to the 
Archbishopric of Canterbury. At the same time 
Salisbury's eldest son, the young Richard of Warwick, 
was made a Privy Councillor. 

This Richard Neville the younger, who was destined 
to become the most powerful man in England, now 

^ Rolls of Parliament, v. 241. 

2 His brother, Lord Bourchier, was married to York's sister 
Isabella. 



1454] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 241 

came to the fore for the first time. Coming of age in 
the critical year of 1449, he was in that year also 
created Earl of Warwick. Richard Beauchamp, the 
old Earl of Warwick, tutor to the King, had died in 
1439, leaving two children by his second wife^ — Henry, 
who had been brought up with the young King, and 
Anne, who was the wife of Richard Neville the younger. 
Henry Beauchamp, whom the King had much 
favoured, creating him Duke of Warwick and Lord of 
the Isle of Wight, died in 1446, in his twenty-third 
year, leaving an infant daughter Anne, who followed 
her young father to the grave in 1449. The Earldom 
of Warwick thus devolved upon Henry Beauchamp 's 
sister Anne, and her husband Richard Neville, and 
to the latter the great Beauchamp estates were un- 
willingly delivered by Suffolk, who had been guardian 
of the infant Anne. Thus the young Richard became 
" Premier Earl of England," and holder of rich and 
widespread lands, situated principally in the West. 
Ten great castles ^ and fifty manors in Hereford and 
the marches of Wales acknowledged his lordship ; he 
held also lands in the counties of Gloucester, Worcester 
— with the castle of Elmley — Oxford, Buckingham 
and Warwick — with its princely castle at Warwick — 
and scattered manors all over the South and Midlands, 
while in the North he had Barnard Castle on the Tees. 
But to understand his position fully it is necessary 

^ He had two daughters by his first wife, but after Henry's death 
they were not joint heirs with Anne to the Earldom, because she 
was Henry's nearest heir, and they were only his halfsisters. 

* Cardiff, Neath, Caerphilly, Llantrussant, Sayntweonard, Ewyas 
Lacy, Castle Dinas, Snodhill, Whitchurch and Maud's Castle. 
R 



242 HENRY VI [1454 

to examine into the standing of his family. The 
House of Neville in the North by a series of judicious 
marriages had built up for themselves a position of 
power outrivalling that of their neighbours the Percies, 
Lords of Northumberland. Ralph Neville of Raby, 
young Richard's grandfather, was created Earl of 
Westmoreland (in which county, as it happened, he 
had no lands) for his services to Henry IV. He 
married twice and had in all twenty-three children. 
Dying in 1425, he left the family seat of Raby and the 
surrounding estates in Durham to the children of 
his first wife, the Earldom passing to his grandson 
Ralph, for his eldest son John had predeceased him. 
But his broad Yorkshire lands, including the strong 
castles of Middleham and Sheriff Hutton, he left to 
his second wife Joan Beaufort, who naturally be- 
queathed them to her own children. This division 
became the cause of much dissension in the House of 
Neville between the children of the first and second 
wives, and subsequently the elder family supported 
the House of Lancaster, while the younger formed the 
backbone of the Yorkist party. Joan Beaufort, 
Countess of Westmoreland, had a remarkable family, 
and an unrivalled success in making matrimonial 
arrangements for them. Richard Neville, the eldest 
son, father of Richard of Warwick, had married Alice, 
daughter and heiress of that Earl of Salisbury who 
perished by the hand of the master-gunner's son before 
Orleans, and Neville thus became Earl of Salisbury 
in 1429. The lands of his Earldom lay chiefly in the 
South, in Wiltshire and Hampshire, including the 



1454] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 243 

castles of Christchurch and Trowbridge, but they 
were scarcely as important as his mother's Yorkshire 
lands, which he inherited in 1440. 

William, Joan's second son, also married an heiress 
and became Lord Fauconberg. George, the third son, 
inherited the Lordship of Latimer from an uncle. 
Robert was the son in the Church, and while yet young 
was manoeuvred into the Bishopric of Salisbury, and 
eventually attained to the see of Durham — a position 
quite equal to that of an Earl, since the Bishop of 
Durham was also Count Palatine. Edward, the 
youngest son, became Lord Abergavenny by marriage 
with Elizabeth Beauchamp, the stepdaughter of the 
old Earl of Warwick. Joan's daughters did even 
better. Three of them married respectively John, 
Duke of Norfolk, Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, 
and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland ; ^ while 
Cecily, the youngest, the " Rose of Raby," married 
Richard of York and became the mother of kings. 

Richard Neville the younger was the eldest son of 
Richard of Salisbury. His sister, as we have seen, was 
the wife of Henry, Duke of Warwick, his brother 
George became Bishop of Exeter, and afterwards 
Archbishop of York, and his brother John, con- 
siderably later, in 1461, was created Lord Montagu. 
The third brother. Sir Thomas Neville, seems to have 
been chiefly distinguished by the fracas which 
attended the return from his wedding. 

Thus it may be seen that at a time when the lay 

^ Norfolk was a strong Yorkist, but Buckingham was Lancastrian, 
while Percy's opinions were unstable. 



244 HENRY VI [1454 

peerage of England only numbered between thirty 
and forty the Nevilles were able to wield a powerful 
influence. 

Richard of York's early connection with the family 
we have already noticed. ^ Salisbury, his brother- 
in-law, was his unwavering friend, fought for him 
and died with him. Young Richard of Warwick also, 
inseparable from his father, loyally supported York — 
as did his brothers — although in the days when he 
came to sway the fortunes of the Crown and earned 
his title of king-maker he was not so loyal to York's 
son. Warwick, moreover, had the advantage — one 
which he never forfeited — of being immensely popular. 
He had the gift of winning men's hearts by his open 
and gracious manner, " for his wit was so ready and 
his behaviour so courteous that he was wonderfully 
beloved of the people," ^ and he lived up to the people's 
idea of a great baron by his generosity, kindliness 
and the lavish hospitality and display usual to one of 
his position. Salisbuiy was " equal to him in virtue 
but not so well beloved." ^ 

York administered his office of Protector in 1454 
with wisdom and capacity. It must have been a 
considerable achievement under the circumstances to 
keep the peace, but with great discretion he refrained 
from taking steps against any of his enemies ; even 
Somerset was permitted to remain quietly in the Tower 

^ See above, p. 41. 

2 Three hooks of Polydore VergiVs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 
p. 94. 

3 Ibid., p. 95. 



1454] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 245 

without being brought to trial. Margaret seems to 
have caused him very Httle trouble at this time; 
probably she was fully occupied with the cares of an 
infant and a sick husband. York's time was chiefly 
taken up with strenuous efiforts to reduce the realm 
to order. Disturbances in the North had continued, 
and in May Northumberland, Exeter, Lord Roos and 
various others were commanded to appear before the 
Council. Egremont and Exeter, however, were not so 
easily suppressed, and it was not until York himself 
went north at the end of the month to deal with the 
disturbance, and later imprisoned the turbulent Duke 
of Exeter in Pontefract Castle, that peace was restored. 
The Protector reached York by the end of May, for 
on the 29th he wrote from there a letter to his little 
sons Edward of March (afterwards Edward IV) and 
Edmund of Rutland, at Ludlow, to which they replied 
in the following terms : Edward was twelve and 
Edmund a year or two younger — 

" Right high and mighty Prince, our most worshipful 
and greatly redoubted lord and Father, in as lowly 
wise as any sons can or may we recommend us unto 
your good lordship. And please it your highness to 
wit that we have received your worshipful letters 
yesterday by your servant William Cleton, bearing 
date at York the 29th day of May, by the which William 
and by the relation of John Milewatier we conceive 
your worshipful and victorious speed against your 
enemies, to their great shame, and to us the most 
comfortable tidings that we desired to hear. . . . And 



246 HENRY VI [1454 

if it please your highness to know of our welfare, at the 
making of this letter we were in good health of bodies, 
thanked be God ; beseeching your good and gracious 
Fatherhood of your daily blessing. And where ye 
command us by your said letters to attend specially 
to our learning in our young age that should cause us 
to grow to honour and worship in our old age, Please 
it your highness to wit that we have attended our 
learning since we came hither, and shall hereafter ; by 
the which we trust to God your gracious lordship and 
good Fatherhood shall be pleased. Also we beseech 
your good lordship that it may please you to send us 
Harry Lovedeyne, groom of your kitchen, whose 
service is to us right agreable ; and we will send you 
John Boyes to wait on your Lordship. Right high and 
mighty Prince, our most worshipful and greatly re- 
doubted lord and Father, We beseech Almighty God 
give you as good life and long as your own Princely 
heart can best desire. Written at your Castle of Ludlow 
the 3rd day of June. 

" Your humble sons 

" E. March. 
"E. Rutland." 1 

York's two sons, the Earl of March and Earl of 
Rutland, continued at Ludlow Castle. York him- 
self remained in the North until about the end of 
June, for, wrote Botoner to John Paston, "As to my 
Lord Yorke, he abydyth aboute Yorke tille Corpus 
Crist Feste ^ be passyd, and wyth grete worship ys 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), Introd. clxix-olxx. ^ 20 June. 



1454] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 247 

there resseyved." ^ He returned to London about the 
beginning of July. 

In the West he insured peace between the quarrel- 
some lords of Devon and Bonville by imprisoning the 
Earl of Devon — a fate which he fully deserved. 

York's attention was also called to naval affairs. 
In this year a French fleet attacked the Channel Isles, 
but was beaten off by the men of Jersey and Guernsej'^ 
with a loss of 500 killed or captured. Five lords were 
appointed to keep the sea, and the Mayor of Bristol 
gave a patriotic example by building a fine vessel for 
service in the war. 

But, unfortunately for the peace of the realm, at 
the end of the year 1454, when York's government was 
getting well under way, Henry's health began to show 
signs of amendment, and about Christmas time he 
entirely recovered, returning to his senses " as a man 
who wakes after a long dream." ^ On 27 December 
he was able to command his almoner to ride to Canter- 
bury with an offering, and at the same time sent his 
secretary with a gift to the shrine of St. Edward. 
" And on the Moneday after noon ^ the Queen came 
to him, and brought my Lord Prynce with her." (He 
was by that time fourteen months old and had never 
been recognized by his father.) " And then he asked 
what the Prince's name was, and the Queen told him 
Edward ; and than he hild up his hands and thankid 
God therof . And he seid he never knew til that tyme, 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 290, let. 206. 
^ L. Lallement, Marguerite d' Anjou- Lorraine, 7. 
^ 30 December. 



248 HENRY VI [1455 

nor wist not what was seid to him, nor wist not where 
he had be whils he had be seke til now. And he askid 
who was godfaders, and the Queen told him, and he 
was wel apaid. And she told him that the Cardinal ^ 
was dede, and he said he knew never thereof til that 
tyme ; and he seid oon of the wisist Lords in this land 
was dede." ^ 

On 7 January the Bishop of Winchester — his friend 
William Waynflete — and the Prior of St. John's 
visited him, " and he speke to hem as well as ever he 
did ; and when thei come out thei wept for joye." 

" And he seith," concludes John Paston's cousin, 
"he is in charitee with all the world, and so he wold 
all the Lords were." ^ Henry had good cause to 
wish it. 

York, of course, at once resigned the Protectorship, 
but, with the King once more able to attend to affairs 
of state, a violent reaction against the Yorkists set 
in, and the Lancastrians had it all their own way. 
Richard's work, which had it been suffered to continue 
might have averted civil war, was completely undone, 
and a return was made to the former state of in- 
competent rule by unpopular favourites. Somerset 
was released from the Tower and declared by Henry to 
be his true and faithful liegeman, thus saving him from 
the necessity of answering the charges to be brought 
against him ; which caused great discontent among all 
estates of the realm. As a further mark of favour 
the Captaincy of Calais, which had been held by York 

1 Kemp, who had died in March. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 315, let. 226. ^ jf,i^^ 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 249 

since the previous July, was taken from that Duke 
and restored to Somerset. Salisbury was relieved of 
the Chancellorship, which was conferred upon Arch- 
bishop Bourchier, who was a somewhat wavering 
Yorkist. The lawless lords of Exeter and Devon were 
once more set at liberty. 

In May Margaret and Somerset, who were as rash 
as York had been prudent, and who seemed entirely 
unable to see the danger of driving the Yorkists to 
desperation, called a Council at Leicester for the 
ominous purpose of " providing for the safety of the 
King's person against his enemies," to which they 
pointedly omitted to summon York, Salisbury and 
Warwick.^ These three lords and kinsmen, when the 
trend of affairs against them had become obvious, had 
retired to their Yorkshire estates ; but upon this 
threatening action on the part of the Lancastrians, 
Salisbury hastened from Middleham to Sandal to 
confer with York at that castle. York was now in a 
critical position. Lawful and constitutional methods 
of removing Somerset had been tried and had failed 
through the blind and misguided partisanship of the 
King and Queen. More than that, the reinstallation 
of Somerset at the head of affairs threatened the 
personal safety of York, for he was evidently bent upon 
vengeance. He also had a very just personal grievance 
in the systematic and determined policy of the Court 
party in excluding him from the government. 

York and his friends appear to have been perfectly 
honest in their desire for the welfare of the kingdom 
^ Oman, Warwick the King-maker, 50, 



250 HENRY VI [1455 

and in their loyalty to King Henry, but it now seemed 
clear to them that it was necessary to save the King 
from his friends at all costs. Either the country must 
continue to groan under the misgovernment of the 
favourite, and York must be content impotently to 
watch its course — if indeed, worse did not befall him — 
or the policy of force which had been attempted in a 
half-hearted manner in 1452, must be carried through 
to completion, and, with all due respect to the King, 
Somerset must be removed for the good of King and 
country, whether Henry liked it or not. The desperate 
position into which the Yorkists found themselves 
driven by the uncompromising action of the Court 
party almost forced them to adopt the latter course. 

Having arrived at this momentous decision, the 
three Richards called out all their tenants in the North 
and rapidly prepared for hostilities. The King's 
person or sovereignty was not aimed at ; Warwick and 
Salisbury were true and disinterested patriots, and we 
may well believe that at this stage Richard was also. 

The universal view seems to have been that Henry 
was a simple and upright man with no ill in himself, 
but grievously misled by his ministers, and in particular 
by the unpopular Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. 
Nevertheless it must be observed that York, by the 
action that he now took, was directly violating his 
oath of 1452 " never to take upon him to gather any 
routs or make any assembly of people without the 
King's commandment or licence ^ ; " unless, indeed, he 
stretched a point and considered the present gathering 
^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. cxvi-cxvii. 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 251 

necessary for his " lawful defence." According to 
Abbot Whethamstede he obtained absolution from his 
oath from the Pope. 

Thus began the civil war known as the Wars of the 
Roses.^ 

About the middle of May 1455 York and Salisbury 
set out on their march south. Warwick and his men 
joined them on the way, but the Duke of Norfolk in 
East Anglia had not yet got his forces together. 
Somerset lost no time in summoning his followers to 
Leicester, but in London, where he was with the King, 
he was only able to gather between two and three 
thousand men. His little army included his son 
Dorset, the Duke of Buckingham and his son Stafford, 
Percy, Earl of Northumberland, Courtenay, Earl of 
Devon, 2 Jasper of Pembroke and James Butler, Earl 
of Wiltshire and Ormond,^ with the Lords Clifford, 
Dudley and Roos. York had only as yet been joined 
by Lord Clinton, but his army numbered about three 
thousand men. 

On 20 May the Yorkists reached Royston and there 
issued a manifesto explaining their position, addressed 
to the Chancellor- Archbishop (Bourchier). 

" For so much as we hear that a great rumour and 

^ The name is hardly correct. The badge of York was a white 
rose, but the red rose was the mark of the House of Tudor and did 
not appear until 1485. 

2 Devon had lately become a Lancastrian, probably because 
York had dared to imprison him. His enemy Bonville thereupon 
found it necessary to become a Yorkist. 

^ This Earl had been left in charge of Ireland by York in 1450, 
but had since come over to England and had won great favour with 
theJQueen. 



252 HENRY VI [1455 

wonder is had of our coming, and of the manner there- 
of, toward the most noble presence of the King our 
most (re)doubted sovereign Lord, and that by divers 
persons such as of approved experience have not put 
them in such devoir that might have advanced the 
honour and prosperity of him of this his noble realm 
and his people of the same, as accorded with their 
truth and duty, many doubts and ambiguities be 
thrown to his Majesty Royal, and among the people, 
of our truth and duty unto his Highness : We having 
consideration unto the office of the head of Justice 
of this land that ye occupy, notify unto your worthy 
Fatherhood and Cousinage that of our said coming nor 
of the manner thereof we intend not with God's grace 
to proceed to any matter or thing other than with 
God's mercy shall be to his pleasure, the honour, 
prosperity and weal of our said Sovereign Lord, his 
said land and people. Always keeping our troth to his 
said Highness unspotted and unbruised, intending to 
draw directly together with you and all other Lords 
of this land that be of such tender zeal and affection 
to the honour, prosperity and weal of our said Sovereign 
Lord, his said realm and people ... to the profit and 
uncoloured grounds and conclusions of such things 
as of reason must most speedily grow to the said honour 
and weal . . . without anything taking or presuming 
upon ourself without the advice and assent of you and 
of the said Lords." They also pointed out that the 
composition of the Council at Leicester implied " a 
mistrust to some persons," and they came to know who 
these persons might be, and " to remove the ambiguity 




HENRY VI 
Royal Collection at Windsor 



Photo, William E. Gray 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 253 

and the occasion of the same mistrust," an armed 
force being necessary " to keep ourselves out of the 
danger whereunto our said enemies have not ceased to 
study, labour and compass to bring us." 

This document they desired the Archbishop to lay 
before the King. On the following day, 21 May, they 
came to Ware, and from that town despatched a letter 
directly to the King, in which they humbly but 
frankly informed Henry that they were coming to 
remove from his presence their " enemies of approved 
experience, such as abide and keep themselves under 
the wing of your Royal Majesty " ; at the same time 
beseeching him not to give credit to the " sinister, 
malicious and fraudulent labours and reports " of these 
persons ; after which they subscribed themselves as the 
King's " most humble and lowly subjects and liege- 
men." ^ Neither of these communications, however, 
reached Henry as intended, for they were intercepted 
by Somerset and kept from him : the King was there- 
fore without any true statement as to the intentions of 
the Yorkists. 

Somerset and the King left London with their army 
on 21 May, and slept that night at Watford. They were, 
however, early astir, for before seven on the following 
morning they appear to have reached St. Albans, six 
miles away. Hearing that York was close at hand, they 
took up their position in that town and awaited his 
arrival. Richard posted his army in the Key Field, 
just outside the town ditch on the east, and there 
remained quietly from seven until ten. Meanwhile 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 326, let. 238. 



254 HENRY VI [1455 

a parley took place. The Duke of Buckingham, who 
was Salisbury's brother-in-law, was sent from the 
King's side to inquire the intentions of the Yorkists, 
whereupon the three Richards returned answer that 
they were the King's faithful subjects and liegemen 
and that their intent was " rightful and true," but they 
requested that it should please the King " to delyvere 
such as we wole accuse . . . and we wyll not now cesse 
for noon such promysse, Surete, ne other " (as that of 
1452) " tyl we have hem whych hav deserved deth, or 
elles we to dye there fore." ^ 

Henry, touched in his friendship for Somerset by 
this declaration, was for once roused to a pitch of 
indignation most unusual to his gentle nature. "J, 
King Harry," he replied, " charge and command that 
no manner of person, of what degree, or state, or con- 
dition that ever he be, abide not, but void the field and 
not be so hardy (as) to make any resistance against 
me in mine own realm ; for I shall know what traitor 
dare be so bold to raise a people in mine own land, 
where through I am in great disease and heaviness. 
And by the faith that I owe to St. Edward and to the 
Crown of England, I shall destroy them every mother's 
son ; and they (shall) be hanged and drawn and quar- 
tered that may be taken afterward, of them to have 
example to all such traitors to beware to make any 
such rising of people within my land, and so traitorly 
to abide their King and governor. And, for a con- 
clusion, rather than they shall have any Lord here 
with me at this time, I shall this day, for their sake 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 328, let. 239. 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 255 

and in this quarrel myself live or die." ^ York then 
harangued his men and between eleven 'and twelve 
in the morning opened the attack. 

Henry's army was posted all up the long street which 
runs from St. Peter's Church down the steep slope of 
Holywell Hill to the little river Ver at the bottom, 
with the standard "set up " in the broad open space 
in St. Peter's Street (now used for the market). This 
street was then approached from the East by Sopwell 
Lane (the old London Road) and Butt's Lane (now 
Victoria Street), and along these York led his first 
attack ; ^ but Lord Clifford held the barriers so strongly 
that he was unable to break through. But young 
Warwick, seizing upon a fresh plan, " took and gathered 
his men together and furiously broke in by the garden 
sides between the sign of the Key ^ and the sign of the 
Chequer ^ in Holwell Street ; and anon as they were 
within the town, suddenly they blew up trumpets and 
set a cry with a shout and a great voice, ' A Warwick ! 
A Warwick ! A Warwick ! ' " ^ The King's line was 
pierced in the centre, and for a short time " so strongly 
were they opposed " that, according to Abbot Whet- 
hamstede, " here you saw one fall with his brains 
dashed out, there another with a broken arm, a third 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 328, let. 239. 

* As he is said to have attacked in " thre diverse places," the 
third would be probably at the bottom of the hill, or at the top 
by Cock Lane, now Hatfield Road. 

^ Now the " Cross Keys." 

* The inn is now the " Queen's Hotel," but the street is called 
Chequer Street at this part. 

s Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 330 let. 239. 



256 HENRY VI [1455 

with a cut throat, and a fourth with a pierced chest, 
and the whole street was full of dead corpses." ^ Soon, 
however, a panic seized the King's men; Sir Philip 
Wentworth cast down the Royal Standard and fled, the 
Earl of Wiltshire followed his example, with five hundred 
men, the King's household " disliking the sight of 
blood, withdrew," ^ the men-at-arms took to flight, 
" running through gardens and fields, brambles and 
bushes, hedges and woods, seeking a hiding-place . . . 
wherefore the tempest of battle entirely ceased." ^ 
The obnoxious Somerset himself was slain on the 
threshold of the Castle Inn ; the Earl of Northumber- 
land and Lord Clifford shared his fate ; Buckingham 
was wounded in the face and took sanctuary in the 
Abbey ; Dorset, Somerset's son, was also " sore hurt 
that he might not go, but he was caryede hom in a 
cart." * Henry, deserted by his men, was left standing 
by his banner amid a storm of arrows, one of which 
wounded him in the neck. At length the few who 
remained persuaded him to take refuge in " the little 
house of a tanner," ^ where he was presently sought 
out by York, Warwick and Salisbury, who " on their 
knees besought him of grace and forgiveness . . . and 
therefore the King our Sovereign Lord took them to 
grace, and so desired them to cease their people and 
that there should no more harm be done." ^ York, with 
considerable want of tact, bade Henry rejoice that 

1 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls. Ser.), 168. 

2 Ibid., 169. 3 lud., 168. 
« Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 331, let. 239. 

s Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls Ser.), 169. 
6 Paston Letters, i. 331, let. 239. 



S^ Michaels 
Clnitr<"Ai 



^ 








Sopw-o.U 



Ancient S^ Albans 



Abbey Church 

Cote house of 

Monastery 
3. French Rour 
4- . Market Place . 

5 . Traditional Site 
ofCosUe Inn 

6 . Tho CroiS Keys 
7 The Queen's Hotel 

formerly the Chequers 
Henry VI i Standard /455 



Lancastrians. l J York/sts ■ 



/?.* battJe 1^55 . 2"''baUJe 1*6/ 



S.hon , Pr««d & C" L" 



LondoDLi Constable iLC?L' 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 257 

Somerset was destroyed, which can hardly have been 
pleasant news to him. Afterwards the Duke took him 
with all reverence to the Abbey, where the Abbot was 
in great distress of mind, for the victorious Yorkists 
were fiercely sacking and pillaging the town and he 
feared lest his monastery should share the same fate. 

Meanwhile corpses lay at the head of every street, 
and no one dared to touch them until Abbot Whet- 
hamstede approached York on the subject. Somer- 
set, Northumberland and Clifford were then buried 
in the Lady Chapel of the Abbey, but no trace of their 
tombs now remains. 

On the following day the Duke of Norfolk joined the 
Yorkists with six thousand men, and the King was 
escorted to London and lodged in the Bishop's Palace, 
where York waited upon him during Whitsuntide, 
remaining in London until the middle of June. 

Henry's wound evidently gave him some trouble, 
for on 5 June the King wrote the following letter from 
Westminster to Gilbert Kemer or Kymer,i Dean of 
Salisbury — 

" Trusty and welbeloved, we greet you wel. 

" And for as moche as we be occupied and laboured, 
as ye knowe wel, with sicknesse and infirmities, of 
the whiche to be deUvered and cured, by the Grace of 
our Lord, us nedeth the Helpe, Entendance, and Laboure 
of suche expert, notable, and proved men in the Crafte 
of Medicines, as ye be, in whom, among alle other, oure 
affection and desire right especially is sette. 

^ Gilbert Kymer had been physician to Humphrey, Duke of 
Gloucester. 
S 



258 HENRY VI [1455 

" We desire, wille and liertily pray you that ye be 
with us at oure Castell of Wyndesore the 12th day of 
this moneth, and entende upon oure persone for the 
cause abovesaid, and that ye faille not as oure singule 
Trust is in you and as ye desire and tendre of our 
Helth and welfare." ^ 

York, as when formerly in power, did not take 
vengeance on his foes; Buckingham submitted him- 
self, Dudley was imprisoned, and the young Dorset 
committed to the charge of Warwick, but no one else 
was interfered with. A Yorkist ministry, as was to be 
expected, was immediately formed; Richard was 
given — or probably chose — the office of Constable of 
England, his brother-in-law Lord Bourchier was made 
Treasurer, Warwick became Captain of Calais, and 
Salisbury Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster : 
Thomas Bourchier, the Archbishop, who now became 
more decidedly Yorkist, remained Chancellor. The 
feeling of unrest, however, continued. On the eve 
of Corpus Christi ^ a rumour arose that three men had 
attempted " to have steked (stabbed) the Deuk York 
in the Kynges chamber," whereupon every one flew 
to arms, and " moche adoo there was," ^ but the men 
succeeded in clearing themselves and quiet was restored. 

Soon after this the King, Queen and Prince removed 
to Hertford ; York, evidently to be near at hand, 
went to the Friars at Ware ; Salisbury retired to Rye,* 

^ Rymer's Fosdera, xi. 366. ^ 14 June. 

3 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 336, let. 243. 
* Probably the village of Rye on the Essex border, as it would be 
near by. 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 259 

and Warwick to Hunsdon, where they awaited the 
opening of Pariiament. 

Parhament was summoned for 9 July and the lords 
were bidden to attend " mesurably accompaignied 
accordyng to their estate with their household mayney 
and noon otherwise." ^ The young Earl of Northum- 
berland, whose father had perished at St. Albans, 
was excused from attending because the Scots were 
harrying Berwick, and he was thus occupied in 
" resisting the malice of the King's enemies." ^ 

The Yorkists were most anxious to avoid blame for 
the bloodshed of St. Albans, and the point was a very 
delicate one. On 17 July " there was langage betwene 
my Lordes of Warrewikke and Cromwell afore the 
Kyng " ^ on the subject, and such was the tension of 
feeling that the Yorkists went about " in harnes with 
strong wepons," and " stuffed their Lordes barges full 
of wepon dayly unto Westminster," * until the King 
at length made a proclamation that no one was to bear 
arms. Finally, to pacify the Yorkists and to avoid 
fresh strife, the blame for the unfortunate incident of 
the battle was thrown upon Somerset, the speaker 
Thorpe, and William Josep ; Somerset, they reflected, 
being past injury or resentment. Every one else 
received an amnesty, " and nothing done there never 
after this time to be spoken of ; to the which bill many 
a man grudged full sore." ^ All the Lords took a fresh 

^ Proc. of the Privy Council (ed. Sir Harris Nicholas), VI. xxvii. 
244. 

2 Ibid., xxviii. 248. 

3 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 345, let. 253. 
* Ibid. 6 lud. 



260 HENRY VI [1455 

oath of allegiance, and the King, who had at length 
received the letters of 20 and 21 May declared his faith 
in the loyalty of the three Richards. About this time 
he presented to Salisbury " a bicoket ^ garnisshed and 
gilt, ij saletts ^ garnished and not gilt, ij peire of 
briganders ^ coveret with velvet set with gilt nailes, and 
a gowne of velvet," with other " harness," which had 
belonged to Lord Camoys.^ 

A rather curious step taken by this Parliament was 
to clear the memory of the Duke of Gloucester, who 
had come to his end eight years before, with the 
suspicion of treason resting upon him. A public 
declaration was now tardily made of his loyalty and 
innocence, or — as Whethamstede said — that satellites 
of Satan had made groundless charges against him.^ 

Thus the only apparent result of the battle of St. 
Albans was a peaceful change of ministry; but in 
spite of the removal of Somerset the position of affairs 
was not in reality improved. Margaret's position was 
momentarily weakened, but, bloodshed having once 
been resorted to, the bitterness between the rival 
parties was immensely deepened, and their hatred was 
increased by the foundation of a blood feud which 
added an element of ferocity to the strife — the example 
of the Cliffords being particularly noticeable. Both 
sides must have felt that they were as far as ever from 
a durable peace. 

^ A " cap of estate." ^ Head-pieces. 

^ A brigandine was a coat of flexible armour. When back and 
front were separate it was called a pair of brigandines. 

* Proc. of the Privy Council (ed. Sir Harris Nicholas), vi. 251. 

* Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls Ser.), 179. 



1455] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 261 

The realm was not more orderly than before. In 
October the Earl of Devon, whom Henry had injudici- 
ously set at liberty in the spring, once more fell upon 
his enemies. The son of the Earl went one night with 
sixty armed men to the house of Nicholas Radford, a 
lawyer, near Kyrton in Devonshire, " and they set an 
house on fire at Radford's gate, and cried and made a 
noise as though they had been sorry for the fire ; and 
by that cause Radford's men set open the gates and 
went out to see the fire ; and forthwith the Earl's son 
aforesaid entered into the place and intreated Radford 
to come down of his chamber to speak with them, 
promising him that he should no bodily harm have ; 
upon which promise he came down and spake with the 
said Earl's son. In the meantime his [Devon's] men 
robbed his chamber and rifled his hutches,^ and trussed 
such as they could get together and carried it away on 
his own horse." Finally, in spite of the promise, the 
poor man was done to death, for one of the men 
" smot hym in the hed," while another " kyt his 
throte." 2 Not content with this outrage, Devon, 
after a severe fight with Bonville outside Exeter, 
entered the town and plundered the Cathedral, and 
capturing several of the Canons " put theym to 
fynaunce." Happily for his neighbours the incorrigible 
Courtenay died early in 1458. 

Henry, after the opening of Parliament in July 1455, 
returned to Hertford and remained there throughout 
the summer. He was still there in October, when he 
was again attacked by his former malady. This time. 

1 Coffers. 2 paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 350, let. 257. 



262 HENRY VI [1456 

however, the unfortunate King's illness only lasted 
about four months. Margaret removed him to Green- 
wich and there devoted herself to his care. 

As before, York was appointed Protector, and made 
his rule felt by going into Devonshire in person, in 
December, to restore order. His position, however, 
was not thought to be very secure. At the beginning 
of February 1456, he and Warwick came up to Parlia- 
ment with a following of three hundred men, but no 
other lord came with them, which caused some surprise. 
Rumours went about that the Duke was to be dis- 
charged, and that if he had not come well defended he 
would have been " attacked " — if, indeed, any one 
would have dared to undertake it. The King was 
said to be favourable to him as " chief and principal 
counsellor," but the Queen was known to be his enemy, 
and, they said, " the Queue is a grete and stronge 
labourid woman, for she spareth noo peyne to sue hir 
thinges to an intent and conclusion to hir power." ^ 

This month (February), however, Henry recovered 
from his attack, and on the 25th came to Parliament 
in person to take over the government from York. 
For eight months longer the Yorldsts remained in 
power while matters were outwardly quiet, but 
Margaret and York were watching each other and 
maldng silent preparations. 

At the end of April or beginning of May there was a 
general dispersion ; York retired to Sandal, and War- 
wick to Warwick, while Margaret and her little son 
went to Tutbury, between the two, and in June to 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 377, let. 275. 



1456] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 263 

Chester. The Queen always seems to have been happier 
out of London, where she was not popular, and which 
at that moment was in a riotous condition following 
on a violent attack on the Italian merchants. About 
the middle of May Henry left London and went up the 
river to Sheen. 

A diversion was caused by " the Kynge of Scottys 
with the Rede Face " ^ (James II), who in the previous 
year had been repulsed from Berwick, but who this 
May announced that he no longer felt himself bound 
by the truce with England, and threatened to take 
up arms if certain concessions were not granted to 
him. He received a reply in July, in which York 
pointed out to him in the bluntest terms that he was 
Henry's vassal, and that his threats merely inspired 
contempt.^ James retorted by making incursions into 
Northumberland, until York went north to chastise 
him, whereupon he thought it prudent to retreat. As 
a matter of fact James, since the battle of St. Albans, 
had been making attempts to stir up Charles VII of 
France to join him in a simultaneous attack on the 
English ; but Charles was too much occupied with his 
own affairs; probably, also, he did not wish to make 
himself too unpleasant to his niece Margaret, and he 
therefore made excuses. One would have thought 
that James, being the son of a Beaufort, would not 
have desired to add to the troubles of the House of 
Lancaster, but apparently the traditional alliance with 
France was stronger than ties of blood. 

^ Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (ed. C4airdner), 70. 
^ Rymer's Foedera, xi. 383. 



264 HENRY VI [1456 

Towards the end of the summer of 1456 Hem-y and 
Margaret made a progress through the Midlands, 
visiting Kenil worth, Lichfield, Leicester, Coventry and 
other places during August and September. At the 
beginning of October Margaret, being suspicious of the 
temper of the Londoners, caUed a Council at Coventry ; 
for in the Midlands, which was the part of England 
most loyally Lancastrian, she could venture much. 
When the Council met, York's position was at once 
assailed. Both Bourchiers were dismissed from the 
ministry, William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, 
being made Chancellor in place of the Archbishop, 
and the Earl of Shrewsbury becoming Treasurer. 
York himself, however, was not attacked, much being 
done in the cause of peace by Buckingham, who, in 
spite of the fact that he had fought on the King's side 
at St. Albans, entertained friendly feelings towards the 
Yorkists, owing to his relationship to Salisbury, and 
had therefore supported their government. The occa- 
sion did not pass without disturbance, for there was 
an affray between the young Duke of Somerset's men 
and the watchmen of the town of Coventry, " and ij 
or iij men of the town were kylled there, to gret dis- 
turbance of aUe the Lords there; for the larom belle 
was ronge, and the toun arose, and wold have jouperdit 
to have distressed the Duke of Somerset, ne had the 
Duke of Buks not have take a direccion therein." ^ 

York also seems to have been in some danger, for, 
adds the writer to John Paston, "it is said that my 
Lord of Yorke hath been with the King, and is departed 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 408, let. 298. 



1456-7 CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 265 

again in right good conceit with the King, but not in 
great conceit with the Queen ; and some men say, had 
my Lord of Bucks not letted [hindered] it, my Lord of 
York had been distressed in his departing." ^ Bucking- 
ham, who was half-brother to the Bourchiers, considered 
it very unreasonable that they should be dismissed so 
suddenly, and felt the more warmly to the Yorkists. 

The Council being over, the King and Queen con- 
tinued their progress, visiting Stafford, Eccleshall,^ 
Chester, Shrewsbury, and finally Kenilworth, where 
they remained. Margaret's efforts at this time were 
directed towards keeping Henry separated from York, 
for whom he showed too great a partiality to please 
her. 

York retired to Sandal, Warwick " with a goodly 
company saylyd imto Calays," ^ and disorder reigned 
at home. 

In 1457 the young NeviUes, over whom their father 
does not seem to have exerted much control, again 
fell out with Egremont, and had an affray in the north 
at Castleton. Egremont was subsequently condemned 
to pay a large fine and was imprisoned in Newgate. 
John Neville also had " dysencyon and unkyndenesse " * 
with young Henry of Somerset, because they both 
happened to be lodged in the City, and the Mayor had 
much ado to keep the peace. 

During April and May 1457 the King and Queen 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 408, let. 298. 

2 Henry was at Coventry on 14 October, and at Eccleshall on 
the 20th. 

3 Fabyan's Chronicle, 631. « Ibid., 632. 



266 HENRY VI [1457 

had their Court at Hereford, in order to control 
disturbances on the Welsh borders, while Buckingham 
was at Shrewsbury. About the same time Warwick 
came over from Calais to attend the wedding of his 
brother John (afterwards Lord Montagu) and visited 
Canterbury and Sandwich to thank those towns for 
their help to him at Calais.^ 

In August — in which month Henry was at Kenil- 
worth — a humiliating disaster befell England from 
without. A large body of French privateers, led by 
Pierre de Breze, actually landed in Kent and sacked 
the town of Sandwich. Moreover, a Breton contingent 
of the fleet visited the coast of Cornwall on their way 
home and plundered Fowey. Much feeling was 
aroused in the country by these outrages, and as it 
was known that Pierre de Breze was an old friend of 
Margaret's, public suspicion attributed to her some 
connection with the event. It is difficult, however, 
to see how it could have served her, for at the moment 
there was no government but her own to be discredited, 
and she could hardly have been so mad as to think of 
employing a body of French to fight against York and 
thus rouse the whole country on his side. The imme- 
diate result of the affair was the appointment of 
Warwick to " keep the sea," for three years, an office 
in which he became conspicuously successful. Great 
offence was thus given to the Duke of Exeter, who had 
entirely neglected his duties as Lord Admiral of 
England, for, writes Botoner, he " takyth a grete 
displesir that my Lord Warewyke occupyeth hys 
^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 417, let. 305. 



1457-8] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 267 

office and takyth the charge of the kepyng of the see 
uppon hym," ^ He was, however, pacified by a grant 
of £1,000. 

Some sensation was caused in November of this 
year by the indictment for heresy of the Welsh Bishop 
of Chichester, Reginald Pecock, who had ventured to 
throw doubts on the infallibility of the Church and the 
authenticity of the Apostles' Creed. The unfortunate 
man, who had already injured his reputation by his 
attempts to secure more reasonable treatment for the 
Lollards, was summarily given his choice between 
recantation and death by fire. At that his courage 
failed, and he chose the former alternative. But his 
books were burnt at St. Paul's Cross, and " hymselfe 
kept in me we ever whyle he lyved after." ^ 

A last attempt was made to get rid of York by 
appointing him once more to the Lieutenancy of Ire- 
land, but this time, far from being so easily removed, 
he merely appointed a deputy and remained where he 
was. 

Every one felt apprehensive as to how long peace 
would be preserved, when at the beginning of 1458 
the good and simple-minded King, hoping to calm the 
turmoil, stepped in with a solution after his own heart. 
In January a Grand Council was summoned in London 
with the object of settling the differences between the 
two parties by peaceful arbitration. The King came 
up from Abingdon towards the end of the month and 
went to Westminster. Salisbury, first of the Lords, 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 424, let. 313. 

2 Fabyan's Chronicle, 632. 



^^ 



268 HENRY VI [1458 

arrived on 15 January with a great company of four 
hundred horse and eighty knights and squires, and 
lodged " at his place callyed the Erber " ^ (^. e. Cold 
Harbour, Blackfriars) ; York followed on the 26th 
with his household and went to Baynard's Castle 
close by ; Exeter, " with a grete felyship and strong," ^ 
lodged, with the young Duke of Somerset, outside 
Temple Bar; Northumberland and CUfford, whose 
fathers had fallen at St. Albans, were accommodated, 
in company with Egremont, in Holborn and the neigh- 
bourhood — then known as the suburb. All had huge 
retinues of four or five hundred men. Finally, on 
14 February Warwick arrived from Calais " with a 
great bande of men, all arayed in rede iakettys with 
white raggyd staves upon them," ^ and took up his 
quarters at the Grey Friars. The Mayor of London 
had an anxious time with this enormous influx of 
armed men, but by daily riding about the city and 
suburbs with five thousand citizens fully armed, and 
appointing four thousand more to keep watch by night, 
peace was effectually kept. 

About 20 February the King and Queen went down 
to Berkhampstead for a short time, where they were 
visited by some of the Lancastrian Lords, but returned 
to London on 17 March and took up their residence at 
the Bishop of London's Palace. Meanwhile consulta- 
tions had been going on busily : the Council sitting 
in the morning at the Black Friars for the benefit of the 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, 632. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 424, let. 313. 

2 Fabyan's Chronicle, 633. 



1468] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 269 

Yorkists, and in the afternoon at the White Friars in 
Fleet Street for the Lancastrians. The result of these 
labours of Bourchier and Waynflete to subdue the 
rancour caused by the battle of St. Albans was made 
public on 24 March. 

York, Salisbury and Warwick undertook to found a 
chantry at St. Albans Abbey for the souls of those who 
fell in the battle ; York was to assign five thousand 
marks to the widowed Duchess of Somerset and her 
family, and Warwick was to deliver one thousand marks 
to the Cliffords. Salisbury and Egremont were bound 
over to keep the peace, and the latter was released 
from his fine of the previous year. 

The Yorkists, by accepting this award, showed 
themselves very ready to make amends, and in this 
respect left nothing for the Lancastrians to complain of. 

The proceedings were crowned on Lady Day by a 
solemn procession to St. Paul's for a public reconcilia- 
tion between all parties. Henry, whose peace-loving 
mind must have originated this idea, headed the 
company in royal state ; York led the Queen, Salisbury 
followed with young Somerset, Warwick with his rival 
Exeter, and the rest similarly paired. According to 
a ballad of the time 

"Ther was bytwyn hem lovely countynaunce, 
Whiche was gret joy to all that ther were." ^ 

This was no doubt true of Henry, who rejoiced to think 
that dissensions were at an end, but it is doubtful 

^ Wright; Political Poems and Songs (Rolls Ser.), 255. 



270 HENRY VI [1458 

whether any one else was deceived into thinking it 
other than a " dyssymulyd unyte and concorde." ^ 

Warwick returned to his duties as Chief Captain to 
guard the seas, in which capacity he immensely in- 
creased his popularity, and gained a lasting hold upon 
the affections of the sailors by his brilliantly successful 
skirmishing in the Channel. He particularly dis- 
tinguished himself by a great fight on 29 May with a 
Spanish fleet, a description of which engagement, 
written by one who took part in it, is still extant. 
" On Trinity Sunday in the morning," wrote John 
Jernyngan to Margaret Paston, " came tidings to my 
Lord of Warwick that there were xxviij sail of Spaniards 
on the sea, and whereof there was xvi great ships of 
forecastle; and then my Lord went and manned five 
ships of forecastle, and three carvells,^ and four 
spynes,^ and on the Monday, on the morning after 
Trinity Sunday, we met together before Calais, at four 
at the clock in the morning, and fought together till 
ten at the clock ; and there we took six of their ships, 
and they slew of our men about four score, and hurt 
a two hundred of us right sore; and there were slain 
on their part about twelve score, and hurt a five hundred 
of them. And it happed me, at the first boarding of 
us, we took a ship of 300 ton, and I was left therein 
and xxiii men with me ; and they fought so sore that 
our men were fain to leave them, and then came they 
and boarded the ship that I was in, and there I was 
taken, and was prisoner with them six hours, and was 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, 633. 

^ A ship of six- or sevenscore tons. ^ Pinnaces. 



1458] CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOMERSET 271 

delivered again for their men that were taken before. 
And as men say, there was not so great a battle upon 
the sea this forty winters." ^ England was not actually 
at war with Spain at the time, but no complaints 
seem to have arisen. On the next occasion, however, 
Warwick was not so fortunate in his selection of enemies, 
for he destroyed three Genoese ships and part of an 
Hanseatic fleet, which action was contrary to existing 
treaties. The Hanseatic League at once complained 
to the Council, and Margaret seized the opportunity 
to have Warwick summoned home for an investigation 
of his conduct. When Warwick came to London in 
the autumn — " the foresayd dissymulyd love -day 
hangyng by a smalle threde " ^ — the Queen attempted 
to get the Earl dismissed from his post and young 
Somerset appointed in his stead. Warwick, however, 
stoutly refused to resign before the end of his term 
unless dismissed by Parliament, which body Margaret 
did not dare to summon. 

On 9 November, when Warwick was with the Council 
in Westminster Hall, a brawl sprang up between one 
of the King's servants and a man of the Earl's retinue. 
Whichever began it, Warwick's man hurt the other and 
fled, whereupon a cry was raised for Warwick, and when 
he came out to see what was the cause of it " the kynges 
servantys came unwarely upon hym so rabbysshely 
that the cookys with their spyttys and other offycers 
with other wepyns came runny nge as madde men, 
entendynge to have slayen hym, so that he escaped 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 427, let. 317. 

2 Fabyau's Chronicle, 633. 



272 HENRY VI [1458 

with great daunger and toke his barge, and soo in all 
haste rowed to London, not without great maymys 
and hurtis receyvyd by many of his servauntis." ^ 

Warwick and his friends attributed this attempt to 
the Queen's agency, while Margaret on her side tried 
to get him arrested for creating a disturbance. 

The Earl, seeing his danger, escaped to his castle of 
Warwick, and after holding a consultation with his 
father and the Duke of York, returned to Calais, where 
he was beyond the reach of his enemies. 

The country hovered on the verge of a fresh outbreak 
of war. It was only postponed because neither side 
wished to take the first step, for each party desired 
that the responsibility of taking the initiative should 
rest upon the other. 



Fabyan's Chronicle, 634. 



CHAPTER VIII 

1459-1460 : York's campaign against henry's bad 
government 

The year 1459 must have opened forebodingly for 
the harassed people of England. For " the reame of 
England was oute of alle good governaunce, as it had 
be meny dayes before ; for the King was simple and 
led by couetous counseylle, and owed more then he 
was worthe." ^ Margaret and her favourites grew 
more and more unpopular, for their only thought was 
to accumulate riches for themselves. " The offices 
[officers] of the reme, and specially the erle of Wylshyre, 
tresorere of Engelond, for to enryche hymself, peled 
the pore peple and disheryted ryghtefulle eyres, and 
dede meny wronges." ^ No Parliament had been 
summoned for three years, but apparently this was not 
regarded as a grievance. 

The state of suspense continued for some months 
longer. Henry kept his Easter that year at St. Albans 
Abbey, on which occasion a characteristic incident is 
related of him. On his departure the King, doubtless 
finding himself without funds, with his usual impulsive 
generosity presented to the Abbot his " best robe," 

^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 79. 

* Ibid. The Earl of Wiltshire was James Butler, also Earl of 
Ormond. 

T 273 



274 HENRY VI [1459 

regardless of the needy state of the royal wardrobe. 
His treasurer, much embarrassed, and unwilling that 
his master should be without proper apparel, was 
obliged to redeem the necessary robe from the Abbot 
at a cost of fifty marks. Moreover the King, " scarcely 
consenting " to this transaction, consoled himself by 
giving the Prior a warrant for sufficient crimson tissue 
to make a set of vestments in its place. ^ No wonder 
that a king accustomed to bestow gifts with a lavish - 
ness that he was quite unable to afford was ill-prepared 
for war. 

In April Margaret at length began to act, and to 
sound the condition of public feeling. Towards the 
end of the month summons were sent out under the 
Privy Seal, some of them signed by Henry himself, 
bidding his supporters to "be wyth the Kyng at 
Leycester the x day of May, wyth as many personys 
defensebylly arayid as they myte acordyng to her 
degre, and that they schwld bryng wyth hem for her 
expensys for ij monythis." ^ The Yorkists, however, 
not being as yet ready for action, took no notice of this 
challenge, and if the assembly took place it must have 
dispersed again quietly, for no breach of the peace 
occurred. 

May and June were occupied in arousing loyalty in 
the Western Midlands. The King, if he was at Leicester 
on 10 May, left there immediately afterwards and went 
to Northampton. Margaret went into Shropshire and 
Cheshire, keeping open house and taking with her the 

1 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), 323. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), . 438, let. 325. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 275 

little Prince Edward, then nearly six years old. Many 
adherents were won to her side by causing him to 
distribute with his own little hands to the gentlemen 
of the county and others silver badges of the swan, 
which he now took as his cognizance, and which had 
formerly been borne by Humphrey of Gloucester and 
before that by his ancestor Edward III. It is even 
asserted by one chronicler that Margaret attempted to 
induce certain lords to exert their influence over Henry 
to persuade him to abdicate in favour of his son, but, 
as might have been expected, she was not successful.^ 
The Yorkists did not display any haste in making 
counter-preparations. As before, they did not wish to 
incur the responsibility of aggression, and consequently 
waited for provocation. About July they began to arm, 
but it was September before action was decided upon. 

At the beginning of September 1459 it appears that 
Margaret and the Council, feeling themselves to be in 
a strong position, sent a peremptory summons to 
Salisbury, who was in Yorkshire, to appear before the 
King. The Earl, being placed in a somewhat dangerous 
position, took this summons as the signal for action, 
and at once sent to Calais for his son Warwick, who was 
evidently ready and waiting to be called upon, probably 
as the outcome of his interview with his father and 
York at Warwick in the previous autumn. Salisbury 
then collected what force he could in the North, but 
instead of proceeding to London as commanded, he 
set out with the intention of joining the Duke of York 
at his castle of Ludlow, in order that they might 
1 Engl. Chron. (ed. J. S. Davies), 79. 



276 HENRY VI [1459 

together wait upon Henry, who seems to have been at 
Coleshill, and remonstrate with him in much the same 
manner as before the battle of St. Albans, that is to 
say, with the professedly loyal object of " removing 
betrayers from around the King." The Earl left 
Middleham Castle about 12 September and marched 
south, but Margaret, and the army which she had been 
diligently gathering all the summer, was in the neigh- 
bourhood of Coventry ; and those about the King 
having, as usual, informed him that the Yorkists 
intended his destruction, the royal troops moved north- 
west towards Eccleshall to intercept Salisbury's march. 
Somerset meanwhile had come up to Northampton 
with another body of men. Henry " in Princely 
manere and with grete celerite spedde the journey," ^ 
but Margaret, although five miles ahead of him, was not 
quick enough, and Salisbury would have slipped by 
unmolested had she not summoned Lord Audley and 
armed him with an order to arrest the Earl. Audley 
raised all the gentlemen of Cheshire and Shropshire 
to whom the little Prince had recently distributed 
badges, and hastened towards Market Drayton. On 
23 September he met Salisbury, who had only five 
thousand men with him, at Blore Heath, where the 
Earl, seeing that a conflict was inevitable, drew up his 
little company with the woods in their rear. After 
an encounter described as a " strong bykeryng," ^ 
which lasted all the afternoon from one o'clock until 
five, the Lancastrians, in spite of their superior numbers, 
were put to flight, Audley himself being slain, with a 
^ Bolls of Parliament, v. 348. ^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 634. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 277 

great number of " the notable knyghtes and squyers 
of Chesshyre that had resceved the lyvery of the 
swannes." ^ Lord Dudley was made a prisoner. 

Salisbury and his men, however, had a very narrow 
escape, for the royal army was close at hand, and 
reached Eccleshall, five miles away, that night. Henry 
himself was ten miles off, but Margaret is said to have 
watched the battle from the tower of Mucklestone 
Church, in which case her impatience must have caused 
her to hasten on ahead of her men. Had the royal 
army quickly advanced from Eccleshall that night 
Salisbury must have been caught and destroyed, but 
his retreat was covered by the exploits of an Austin 
friar, who " schot gonnys alle that nyght in a parke 
that was at the backe syde of the Fylde," and thus 
misled Margaret, who had fled back to Eccleshall, into 
thinking that the Yorkists were still holding their 
position. The Lancastrians therefore waited for 
morning light, but " on the morowe they founde nothyr 
man ne chylde in that parke but the fryer, and he sayde 
that for fere he abode in that parke alle that nyght," ^ 
apparently finding the noise of the guns comforting. 

The only success which fell to the royal arms that 
day was the capture, at Tarporley, of the turbulent 
younger sons of Salisbury, Thomas and John Neville, 
who had been wounded at Blore Heath, and who were 
now imprisoned for a time at Chester. Thus Salisbury 
got away to Ludlow and effected his junction with the 
Duke of York. 

1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 80. 

2 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 204. 



278 HENRY VI [1459 

Warwick meanwhile had left Calais in charge of 
his Uncle WilHam, Lord Fauconberg — who is pleasantly 
described as " a little man in stature but a knight of 
great reverence " ^ — and with Sir Andrew Trollope and 
a body of about six hundred men from the garrison of 
Calais landed at Sandwich and marched towards 
Ludlow. It was by the merest chance that he avoided 
a conflict at Coleshill, for, as he passed by, " the Duke 
of Somerset whythe hys men rode alonge thoroughe 
the towne, and yet non of hem mette whythe othyr as 
hyt happyd, or by lyckely hode they wold have made 
a newe fraye." ^ 

The three Richards were now at Ludlow, whence, 
after an expedition to Worcester, they despatched 
a letter to Henry by the hands of the Prior of 
Worcester and William Lynwood, announcing that 
they had solemnly signed an indenture in Worcester 
Cathedral testifying their loyalty to the King, com- 
plaining of the behaviour of their enemies, and pointing 
out that they merely wished to remove the instruments 
of Henry's intolerably bad government. Apparently, 
however, this document did not reach the King, but 
was intercepted by the Bishop of Exeter, his confessor, 
and a reply sent that the King would be found on the 
field. 

This scrupulous action and delay on the part of the 
Yorkist leaders gave Margaret time to rally her forces 
at Coventry, where many assembled " for the love 
they bare to the King, but more for the feare they 

^ Oman, Warwick the King-maker, 74. 

2 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 205. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 279 

had of the queen, whose countenance was so fearful 
and whose looke was so terrible that to al men against 
whom she toke a small displeasure her frounyng was 
their undoing and her indignation was their death." ^ 
Henry himself took the campaign very strenuously, 
and displayed an activity most unusual in him, " not 
sparyng for eny ympedyment or difficulte of wey, nor 
of intemporance of wedders . . . and somtyme as 
the case required logged in bare feld somtyme two 
nyghtes togider." ^ He wasted no time in marching 
against the Yorkists, but with his usual clemency and 
dislike of bloodshed he offered an amnesty to all those 
in arms against him, with the exception of Salisbury 
and a few others who had fought at Blore Heath, if 
York would disband his men and give up his purpose. 
The Duke, however, probably mistrustful of the 
Queen, remained in arms, and established his camp at 
Ludford, just outside Ludlow, where they made " a 
grete depe dyche and fortefyde it with gonnys, cartys 
and stakys; but hys party was ovyr weke, for the 
kyng was mo thenn XXX M^ [30,000] of harneysyd 
men, by syde nakyd men that were compelled for to 
come with the kynge." ^ York's position was indeed 
most insecure, and as a last resort he even published a 
report that Henry was dead, and to give it colour 
instructed his chaplains to sing masses for the King's 
soul, Henry, however, approached Ludford in person 
on 12 October, and encouraged his host in " so witty, so 

^ Hall's Chronicle, p. 241. 

2 Rolls of Parliament, v. 348. 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 205. 



280 HENRY VI [1459 

knyghtly, so manly, in so comfortable wise " ^ that, in 
spite of the badness of the ways and the flooded river, 
the royal camp was pitched that evening opposite the 
Yorkists, with only the swollen stream and the bridge 
of Ludford between them. Henry, probably aware of 
the discouraged state of York's army, issued a fresh 
proclamation, promising free pardon to all except the 
leaders if they would join his standard. A few shots 
were fired across the river by the " rebels," but their 
position was hopeless. At nightfall Sir Andrew 
TroUope, one of Warwick's captains, and a veteran of 
the French wars, deserted and went over to the King 
with all the men from the Calais garrison. After 
that the host melted away; "secretly in the night 
each sought the place he considered the most safe." ^ 
At midnight York, with his second son, Edmund of 
Rutland, fled into Wales, " and breke downe the 
bryggys aftyr hym that the Kyngys mayny schulde 
not come aftyr hym." ^ Finally he escaped to Ireland, 
where he was received " as though another Messiah 
had descended to them." ^ His wife and younger sons 
were left at Ludlow Castle and fell into the hands of the 
Lancastrians. 

Salisbury and Warwick, with the young Earl of 
March (afterwards Edward IV), Sir John Dynham and 
two or three others, fled south into Devonshire, hotly 
pursued by Trollope, who was evidently intent on 

^ Rolls of Parliament, v. 348. 

^ Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls Ser.), 344-5. 
^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 205. 
4 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (RoUs Ser.), 367. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 281 

proving his new-found loyalty. But in spite of the 
fact that there was " a sending and a running with all 
speed toward every coast to take those lords," ^ they 
succeeded in reaching a fishmg village near Barnstaple. 
There they bought a small fishing smack for 220 nobles, 
and embarked with four mariners, pretending that they 
wished to go to Bristol, When they got out into the 
Channel, however, Warwick asked the master mariner 
if he could navigate westwards, but the man replied 
that he could not. Warwick, nothing daunted, seeing 
that his father and cousin were alarmed, spoke to them 
comfortable words and promised that " by the pleasure 
of God and of Monseigneur de St. George he would take 
them safely to port." ^ Whereupon, the sail having 
been hoisted, he took the helm himself, and putting his 
knowledge of the Channel to good account, successfully 
navigated his little vessel to Guernsey, of which island 
he happened to be the overlord. In Guernsey they 
were windbound for eight days, but at length, on 
3 November, they safely reached Calais, where they 
were received with great joy by Fauconberg, and with 
honour and acclamations by the Mayor and citizens. 
What became of the unfortunate Devonshire mariners 
is not stated ; perhaps they got back from Guernsey. 

Meanwhile the King's troops fell upon Ludlow, as 
belonging to York, and it was sacked and " robbed to 
the bare walles." Many of the soldiers " fuUe un- 
goodely smote owte the heddys of the pypys and 
hoggys hedys of wyne, that men wente wete-schode in 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, p. 635. 

* J. de Waurin, Anchiennes Cronicques, ii. 196, 



282 HENRY VI [1459 

wyne." The Duchess of York " unmanly and cruelly 
was entreted and spoyled." ^ 

Such was the failure of York's second resort to arms. 
In this campaign there seems to have been a curious 
lack of enthusiasm for the Yorkist cause. Perhaps the 
nation had not looked kindly upon the incident of the 
battle of St. Albans, and thought that in this case the 
Yorkists had taken up arms without sufficient provoca- 
tion. It was a mistake also on the part of the Duke 
to select as a battle-field a part of the country with the 
Midland Counties, which were always most loyal to 
the House of Lancaster, between him and the south of 
England. The Yorkist cause always prospered more 
in the neighbourhood of London, or in Yorkshire, where 
York and Salisbury had their estates. On this occasion 
at any rate the people did not join them as they had 
hoped. The removal of Somerset was probably in one 
way a handicap, for the nation had felt little hesitation 
in joining in an attack on the one " traitor " they so 
cordially hated, whereas now many were cautious 
about attacking the King's Government in general, as 
being a proceeding of far more doubtful loyalty. 
From this time also there seems — not unnaturally — 
to have been a certain misgiving in the coiuitry as to 
York's real intentions, and a growing suspicion of his 
loyalty to Henry. 

After the affair of Ludford no time was lost in 

summoning a Parliament to meet in November. The 

place chosen was the Royalist town of Coventry, and 

the elections were shamelessly manipulated to secure a 

1 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 207. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 283 

strongly Lancastrian assembly. A great part of the 
members, it was stated in a later Parliament, " were 
named, retourned, and accepted, som of theym without 
dieu and free election, and som of theym withoute any 
election, ayenst the cours of youre lawes and the 
libertees of the Commons of this youre Realme." ^ 

At this moment, when the Yorkist party was in 
eclipse, it seems as though Henry's dynasty might yet 
have been saved had Margaret turned her energies 
towards the establishment of a competent government ; 
but her purpose seems to have been set merely on 
personal revenge. This carefully packed Parliament 
was used as an instrument for the chastisement of 
her enemies. A Bill of Attainder was brought in and 
passed against the principal Yorkists, including the 
Duke of York and his sons the Earls of March and 
Rutland, the Earl of Salisbury, his wife and his three 
sons, Lord Powys, Lord Clinton, Sir Thomas Harring- 
ton, Sir Thomas Parr, Sir John Conyers,^ Sir John 
Wenlock, Sir William Oldhall (the former Speaker), 
Sir John Dynham, Edward Bourchier and various 
others, their estates and possessions being forfeited. 
They were, moreover, " cryed opynly and proclamed 
as for rebellis and traytoures ; and thejrre tenauntes 
and there men spoyled of theyre goodes, maymed, bete 
and slayne without eny pyte." ^ 

Although York was not actually charged in the Bill 
of Attainder with instigating Jack Cade's Rebellion, it 
was implied that he had had a connection with it, its 

1 Bolls of Parliament, v. 374. ^ Son-in-law of Fauconberg. 

^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 83. 



284 HENRY VI [1459 

object being " to have exalted the seid Due, ayenst all 
reason, la we and trouth, to the estate that God and 
nature hath ordeyned you [King Henry] and youre 
succession to be born to " ^ — a statement which was 
far from the truth. 

Henry, according to his usual custom, reserved to 
himself the right of pardoning any of the persons thus 
attainted, and Thomas and John Neville, who were 
in his hands, merely continued in captivity and were 
not executed. Lord Powys also, by making his sub- 
mission, saved his life, though his possessions were 
forfeited to the Crown. 

The Duchess of York was given into the custody of 
her sister, the Duchess of Buckingham, who apparently 
was not overtender with her, and gave her " many a 
grete rebuke." ^ A solemn oath of allegiance to the 
King and to his son. Prince Edward, was exacted from 
both Houses. Bishop Waynflete continued to hold the 
office of Chancellor, and the hated Earl of Wiltshire and 
Ormond that of Treasurer. 

The young Duke of Somerset, to his great satisfaction, 
was appointed Captain of Calais in place of Warwick, 
and went, accompanied by Lord Audley ^ and Lord 
Roos, to take up his post. Oddly enough his herald 
arrived before Calais on the evening of the very day 
on which Warwick had been so triumphantly received 
there, and returned to his master extremely disconcerted 
at this totally unlooked-for development of the situa- 

^ Rolls of Parliament, v. 346. 

2 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 207. 

3 Whose father was killed at Blore Heath. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 285 

tion. Somerset's astonishment and annoyance to find 
his enemy thus firmly installed in his place must have 
been great, for Warwick had vanished after Ludford 
and no tidings had been heard of him since. Next day 
the Duke sailed for France, but owing to a contrary 
wind most of his ships, containing his arms and 
baggage, were driven into Calais into the very arms of 
Warwick, Audley himself being made a prisoner. 
Warwick caused the men thus delivered into his hands 
to be questioned, and those who had formerly taken 
an oath of allegiance to himself and were now serving 
against him were ruthlessly executed as a warning. 
As for Somerset, he escaped, and took refuge at 
Guisnes, where, since Warwick was established in the 
governorship of Calais, he was in rather a helpless 
position. He remained there for some time, attempt- 
ing without success to cut off Warwick's supplies from 
Flanders, and he and the Earl " bykered togiders 
sondry tymes," ^ but with little result, Somerset was 
so unwise as to enlist French help at Margaret's instiga- 
tion, for the King was prevailed upon to send " letters 
to his enemyes and adversaryes in other landes, that 
in no wyse thay shold shew eny favoure or good wylle 
to the toun of Caleys, whereby they had comfort 
ynoughe to procede to the wynnyng therof " ^ — a pro- 
ceeding which did not increase the popularity of his 
party at home. Warwick, on the other hand, was 
continually strengthened by the influx of refugees from 
England to join his cause. 

1 Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 170. 

2 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 88. 



286 HENRY VI [1459 

York meanwhile was equally firmly established in 
Ireland. After her attainder, Anne, Countess of 
Salisbury, made her escape from England and joined 
him at Dublin. The party divisions which were 
rending England had spread to Ireland also, for since 
James Butler, Earl of Ormond, whose wife was a 
Beaufort, had curried favour with the Lancastrians 
and had become Earl of Wiltshire and Treasurer, the 
rival family of Geraldines, Earls of Desmond and 
Kildare, felt it necessary vehemently to espouse the 
cause of York. Margaret made yet another mistake 
in attempting to stir up the " wild Irish " against him 
in the hope of getting him into trouble, but the scheme 
entirely failed, for, as York explained in a later mani- 
festo, " dyvers lordes caused his hyghenesse to wryte 
letters under his privy scale unto his Yrisshe enemyes, 
whyche never Kyng of Englond dyd heretofore, where- 
by they may have comfort to entre in to the conquest 
of the sayde londe; whiche letters the same Yrysshe 
enemyes sent un to me the sayde Duke of York, and 
merveled gretely that any suche letters shuld be to 
theym sent, spekyng therinne gret shame and vylony 
of the seyde reme." ^ The Duke's cause was only 
furthered by this indiscretion, which caused con- 
siderable murmuring in England, and he became the 
idol of the inhabitants of the Pale. He did not fail, 
either, to consolidate his position by making new 
statutes, and even set up a mint, which turned out 
" grotys of a newe kune ^ in Irlonde; in one syde of 

1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 87. 

2 Coin. 



1459] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 287 

the grote was a crowne, and in that othyr syde a 



crosse. 



1 



Thus Margaret had in no way benefited by the 
banishment of her enemies. They were merely re- 
moved to a safe place, where they had time and 
opportunity for nursing their strength, and, far from 
being destroyed, were likely to be roused to still more 
formidable ejBforts by the extreme measure of passing 
an attainder against them. Had Margaret taken 
prompt measures to expel them forcibly from their 
posts of vantage in Ireland and France, she might have 
hoped for future success, but either she was too negli- 
gent or she had not a sufficient force at her command. 
Moreover the severe sentences of the Parliament held 
after the rout of Ludford had begun to turn the tide 
of public feeling once more in favour of the Yorkists. 
A doctor of Ludgate, who preached at St. Paul's, 
" chargyng the peple that no man schuld preyen for 
these Lords traytorys . . . had lytyl thank." ^ 

Warwick, in Calais, did not remain idle. Somerset 
at Guisnes had not sufficient force at his command to 
effect anything against him, and at length, at the end 
of 1459, Lord Rivers ^ was sent down to Sandwich with 
a small body of reinforcements for him to prepare for 
embarkation. Warwick, however, was well aware of 
this, and shortly after Christmas, when he thought the 
moment suitable, sent his able lieutenants, Dynham 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 205. 
^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 497, let. 341. 
3 Sir Richard Woodville, who had married Bedford's widow, the 
Duchess of Luxemburg. 



288 HENRY VI [1460 

and Wenlock, who slipped out of Calais on 7 January 
" with a small number of men but with a multitude of 
coragious hartes," ^ and ran into Sandwich in the early- 
morning. The arrival of their ships there aroused no 
suspicion, the people thinking that they were traders 
from the Baltic, and the raid met with complete success. 
Lord Rivers was ignominiously taken in his bed and 
carried off, and his men surprised and overcome. 
His son, Sir Anthony Rivers, was also captured as he 
had the misfortune to arrive from London a little later. 
Evidently the populace of the town was at heart 
favourable to the Yorkists, for they offered not the 
smallest opposition to this remarkable performance. 
Finally Dynham and Wenlock calmly sailed back to 
Calais, " and took with theym alle the grete shyppes, 
save one called Grace Dieu, the whyche myghte nat 
be had awey because she was broke in the botome." ^ 
And " my Lord Ryvers was brought to Caleys, and 
byfor the Lords with viij^'' torches,^ and there my 
Lord of Salesbury reheted * hym, callyng hym knaves 
son, that he schuld be so rude to calle hym and these 
other Lords traytors, for they schall be found the 
Kyngs treue liege men, whan he schuld be found a 
traytour. And my Lord of Warrewyk rehetyd hym, 
and seyd that his fader was but a squyer, and broute 
up with Kyng Herry the V*®, and sethen hymself made 
by maryage, and also made Lord, and that it was not 
his parte to have swyche langage of Lords, beyng of the 

1 Hall's Chronicle, 242-3. 

2 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Da vies), 85. 

3 Eightscore. * Rated. 



1460] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 289 

Kyngs blood. And my Lord of Marche reheted hym 
in lyke wyse. And Sir Antony was reheted for his 
langage of all iij Lords in lyke wyse." ^ Rivers might 
have tmi-ned the tables with effect upon Warwick and 
Salisbury, seeing that both of them had begun life as 
plain Richard NeviUe and had obtained their earldoms 
by marriage with heiresses ; but he was hardly in a 
position to venture upon such a retort. In after years 
he not only supported the Yorkist cause, but actually 
became the father-in-law of the young Earl of March, 
who on this occasion had treated him with such 
contempt. 

The Chancellor Waynflete, after the disconcerting 
incident of Sandwich, hurried to the King's presence, 
and it was reported at the end of January 1460 that 
Henry was coming " to London ward, and as it is seyd, 
rereth the pepyll as he come." ^ Commissions of array 
were sent to many counties bidding the levies to be 
ready when called upon. 

But meanwhile feeling in England was becoming 
more and more favourable to the Yorkists. There was 
a feeling of resentment that York and the two most 
popular Earls " cro welly were banysshed oute of this 
londe and not excepte like as thei were worthi," ^ and 
men had now had time to see that no benefit resulted 
to the country from their absence. The Government 
was as bad as ever; political infidelity had taken 
root, and the civil strife was assuming a more ferocious 
character. Moreover, the Lancastrians laboured under 

1 Pasto7i Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 506, let. 346. ^ 75^^^ 

3 Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (ed. Gairdner), 72. 
U 



290 HENRY VI [1460 

the disadvantage of possessing no capable head, for 
Margaret, although to a certain extent an able woman 
and possessed of some capacity for arousing enthusiasm, 
was rash and impetuous, and wholly without the 
faculty of sound judgment. Her unpopularity was, 
moreover, increased by her foolish and unpatriotic 
dealings with the French and Irish. 

Signs of disaffection were not wanting. The men of 
Kent began to grow restless. The exiled Lords sent 
letters " unto many placys of Englonde ho we they were 
a vysyde to reforme the hurtys and myschevys ande 
grevys that raynyd in thys londe ; and that causyd 
them moche the more to be lovyde of the comyns of 
Kente and of London." ^ 

Deep indignation was aroused by the conduct of the 
Earl of Wiltshire, who, armed with a royal commission, 
went with Scales and Hungerford to Newbury, which 
belonged to York, and arrested all men who were 
known to be favourable to the Duke, causing some of 
them to be hanged, drawn and quartered, after which 
the town was plundered, as if in time of war, without 
the least cause. The Earl of Wiltshire is then said to 
have gone down to Southampton, where he obtained 
five carracks, ostensibly " to take the Erie of Warre- 
wyk, but specyally for to stele privyly owte of the 
reame." ^ Having put on board a quantity of pro- 
visions and most of his personal treasure, he filled the 
ships with soldiers, after which he embarked and 
" sayled aboute in the see." Finally, however, being 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdjier), 206. 
^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 90. 



1460] CAMPAIGN AGAINST MISRULE 291 

a notorious coward and " dredyng alwey the commyng 
of the forseyde Erles of Warrewyk and Salesbury," ^ 
he went to Holland and sent his men back to England 
from there. 

Early in 1460 nine citizens of London, who had 
formed the bold design of joining Warwick at Calais, 
were taken with one Roger Nevyle, whose very name 
was suspicious as showing a possible connection with 
the Earl's family, and were actually hanged and be- 
headed. These severe measures, which were taken in 
February, did much to alienate the citizens of London, 
always somewhat favourably inclined towards the 
Yorkists, from the Lancastrian cause. 

The present situation grew impossible. Rumours 
ran abroad that Warwick was about to attempt a 
landing, and it was reported that Norfolk was to be 
sent by the King to keep Easter at Caistor Castle,^ near 
Yarmouth, " for safe gard of the cuntre ayens Warwyk 
and other swich of the Kinges enmyes, whiche may 
lytely be lyklynesse aryve at Waxham." 

The country waited anxiously for the next step on 
the part of York and his fellow-exiles. 

^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 90. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 514, let. 349. The castle was 
built by Sir John Fastolf, who was lately deceased. Henry himself 
had been eastwards, for he had spent three days during I^ent at 
Croyland Abbey. 



CHAPTER IX 

1460-1461 : yorkist claim to the crown 

In the spring of 1460 Warwick saw that the time 
was ripe for planning a fresh course of action. About 
the beginning of Lent news at last reached him of the 
encouraging position of York in Ireland. Ireland, 
however, was far away and it might be expected that 
the King's ships would keep the seas to prevent 
communication. But Warwick probably well knew 
the state that the navy was likely to be in, apart 
from the fact that he had a portion of it in his own 
hands, and in March he boldly sailed out of Calais 
with his six best ships filled with soldiers. Reaching 
Ireland without opposition, he met York on 16 March, 
and on the following day they proceeded together 
to Waterford, where a consultation was held. It was 
finally agreed there that Warwick from Calais and 
York from Ireland should land simultaneously in 
England with all available forces in the following June. 
This arrangement being made Warwick started on his 
return voyage, taking with him his mother, the Countess 
of Salisbury, who had been in Ireland with York since 
her attainder, and who now took this opportunity of 
rejoining her husband at Calais. By this time Henry's 
sluggish ministry had become aware of the Earl's 
movements, and Exeter, who was once again Admiral 
of England, sailed out with the Grhce Dieu and thirteen 

292 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 293 

other ships to intercept him, and about Whitsuntide 
lay off Dartmouth awaiting Warwick's return. He 
had, however, reckoned without the great popularity 
of Warwick with the sailors, for when the Earl's fleet 
hove in sight, Exeter's men, although superior in 
numbers, promptly mutinied and refused to fight 
against their old captain, so that the Admiral " durst 
nat sette opponn the erle, ne the erle wolde nat dys- 
tresse hym because he was amyral and of the kynges 
bloode, but late hym passe by." ^ Exeter was obliged 
to retreat ignominiously, into Dartmouth, while War- 
wick, with his mother, who had been sadly upset by 
the voyage, reached Calais in safety on 1 June, having 
been absent nearly two months. 

The Home Government, probably disconcerted by 
the naval incident, made another attempt to send 
assistance to Somerset for the dislodgment of Warwick, 
and in June five hundred men under Osbert Mundford 
were sent to Sandwich ready to embark. But Warwick 
had by that time completed his preparations. He 
is even said to have compelled the Merchants of the 
Staple at Calais to lend him £18,000, which much 
displeased Henry. Most favourable reports were 
received of the state of feeling in Kent; according to 
one chronicler the men of that county, alarmed by 
the brutality of the Earl of Wiltshire at Newbury, 
sent messengers to Calais imploring the Earls to come 
to their succour and promising to support them. 
Warwick, a little mistrustful, is said to have sent over 
Fauconberg, who reported satisfactorily upon the 
1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 85. 



294 HENRY VI [1460 

matter and obtained a large following.^ If, however, 
he really did go to Kent, which seems an improbable 
and dangerous undertaking, he returned again, for 
he crossed from Calais with his brother and nephew 
later on. 

But besides the Kentish men, all the Yorkist Lords 
who had not been involved at Blore Heath and Ludford, 
and had consequently not been attainted, were holding 
themselves in readiness for the return of their leaders. 
It only remained to secure a footing in England. 
One would have thought that any one in command 
at Sandwich would have taken a lesson from the former 
disaster, but the Lancastrians seemed incapable of 
prudence. About 20 June Dynham and Wenlock once 
more approached the town, attacked it, and after a 
hot fight were victorious. Osbert Mundford was 
carried off to Calais, and on 25 June was beheaded 
on the sands with twelve of his men, for he had been 
one of the deserters in Trollope's company at Ludford. 
This time, however, Dynham did not return, but, 
having won a foothold, remained at Sandwich to keep 
the door open for Warwick. 

Before starting on their enterprise the Yorkists 
issued two manifestoes. One, addressed to Cardinal 
Coppini, demanded the reversal of the attainders of 
1459, inferring that otherwise they would feel compelled 
to resort to force against this injustice. At the same 
time, however, they still asserted their allegiance to 
Henry — their ideas of loyalty being strangely elastic. 
The second document, addressed to the Archbishop 
^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 91. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 295 

of Canterbury and the Commons of England, recited 
the grievances of the country in general which they 
wished to have redressed. They mentioned, for the 
first time, the oppression and extortion to which the 
Church had been subjected — presumably by Henry's 
favourites, but if so the King must have been ignorant 
of their actions, for he would never have permitted 
it. They also complained that the poverty of th© 
King caused the despoiling of his subjects by the 
officials of his household, and they therefore desired 
that he should live within his means. Justice was 
" parcially and unrightfully guyded " by corruption, 
so that " all right wysnesse and justice ys exyled of 
the sayde londe and no manne dredethe to offende 
ayenst the seyde la was." ^ The Commons were 
oppressed by taxes and tallages, most of which were 
appropriated by the Lords, who, according to the old 
plaint, had suffered the King's domains in France to 
be lost. A fresh burden had now been imposed in 
obhging every township to find men for the King's 
guard (this was apparently a distorted version of the 
levies called out earlier in the year in anticipation 
of a Yorkist landing). The ill-treatment and im- 
peachment of York and his friends were complained 
of, also the King's intrigues with the French and Irish. 
The Earls of Shrewsbury and Wiltshire and Lord 
Beaumont were mentioned as being particularly 
obnoxious ; these men were said to be responsible for 
the wretchedness of the realm, and not the King, 
" whyche ys hymself as noble, as vertuous, as ryghtewys 
1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 86. 



296 HENRY VI [1460 

and blyssed of dysposicione as any prince erthely." 
Therefore, they once more purposed to come to his 
presence and " opene and declare there unto hym 
the myscheves aboue declared," praying the people 
to support them.^ 

On 26 June, accordingly, Warwick, Salisbury, March 
and Fauconberg, with 2000 men, left Calais and crossed 
the Channel, taking with them also Lord Audley, who 
during his captivity had been won over to their cause 
in spite of the " rating " with which he had been 
received. The Cardinal Legate Coppini, Bishop of 
Terni, also accompanied them, being sent by the 
Pope to mediate between the two parties in the hope 
of arriving at a peaceful understanding. But he also 
was won over by the Yorkists, and being thus biased 
his mission came to naught, at which the Pope was 
much displeased. 

Incredible as it may seem, no preparations seem to 
have been made by Henry and his ministers against 
an invasion — unless the unfortunate Mundford at 
Sandwich had been intended to guard the coasts, a 
task which he signally failed to perform. Yet they 
can hardly have been blind to the probability of a 
Yorkist landing in the near future. The three Earls 
arrived at Sandwich, where they were met by Bourchier, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, with his cross borne before 
him and a great multitude of people in his train. 
Thus accompanied they marched towards London, 
through Canterbury, Rochester and Dartford, being 
joined on the way by Lord Cobham and gentlemen 
1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 89. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 297 

and yeomen from all over the South. By the time 
they reached Blackheath their forces had swelled 
to 20,000, and at Southwark they were met by the 
Bishops of Ely and Exeter ^ with another band. 

On 27 June the Council of the City of London had 
decided to remain loyal to King Henry. However, 
such was the feeling of nervousness and unrest that 
on the Sunday following it was thought wise to forbid 
the citizens to attend service at St. Paul's. Rapidly 
the loyalty of the fickle Londoners began to give way, 
and a letter from the Earl of Warwick finally won them 
over to his side.^ Hungerford and Scales, who had 
hastened to the defence of the city, were received with 
such coldness by the Mayor and aldermen that, seeing 
the strength of the Yorkist army, they took refuge in 
the Tower, together with all the Lancastrian nobility 
in the city. Meanwhile the Earls had sent a herald 
to ask admittance to London, and a short discussion 
took place. A slight opposition was raised, the 
Lancastrians advising the Mayor to " ley gunnery at 
the brege for to kepe thaym oute, and so a lytell 
division there was among the citezens, but yt was 
sone ceased." ^ Finally twelve discreet aldermen were 
sent to bid the Earls welcome, and on 2 July the 
Yorkists entered the city. In passing over London 
Bridge, however, the crowd was so great that thirteen 
of the Bishop's men fell, and the weight of their armour 
hindering their rise, they were trampled to death. 

^ George Neville, brother of Warwick. 

2 Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, i. 299-300. 

3 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 94. 



298 HENRY VI [1460 

Convocation was sitting at St. Paul's, and Warwick 
took the opportunity of explaining his grievances in 
their presence, after which all the leaders, following 
their usual custom, took an oath upon the cross of 
Canterbury that they willed nothing against the King. 

Henry meanwhile was with the Queen at Coventry, 
where he had been holding his Court when the Earls 
landed, and he was now making all haste to collect 
his forces there. His supporters in London continued 
to hold out in the Tower, whence they "caste wyld 
fyre into the city and shot in smale goimes and 
brende and hurte men and wymmen and chyldren in 
the stretes." ^ Meanwhile the Yorkist peers flocked 
to London with their retinues to join Warwick's 
standard. There was, however, no time to be lost. It 
was decided that Salisbury should remain as Governor 
of London, supported by Sir John Wenlock and Lord 
Cobham with a sufficient force, while Warwick went 
north to meet the King. Salisbury kept the Tower 
closely besieged, " grete bombards " being placed on 
the opposite bank of the river to fire upon it, but it 
held out for several weeks longer. Nothing as yet 
had been heard of York, and on 5 July Warwick set 
out, accompanied by Archbishop Bourchier, Bishop 
Neville his brother, his uncles Fauconberg and Aber- 
gavenny, Lord Bourchier, brother-in-law of York, 
Lords Clinton and Scrope, the Bishops of Ely, Salisbury 
and Rochester, Cardinal Coppini, Lord Audley his 
former prisoner. Lord Say, son of the hated Lancastrian, 
and the Prior of St. Johns, formerly such an ardent 
^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 96. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 299 

supporter of the King. They marched with their 
host towards Northampton, whither the King had 
proceeded with his army and entrenched himself. 
Henry had left his wife and son at Coventry, evidently 
fearing for their safety, and upon leaving Margaret 
he " kyste hyr and blessyd the prynce, and com- 
mannded hyr that she shulde not com unto hym tylle 
that he sende a specyalle tokyn unto hyr that no man 
knewe but the kynge and she." ^ Upon reaching 
Northampton, Henry, who was accompanied by Buck- 
ingham, brother-in-law to Salisbury, Shrewsbury, son 
of the famous Talbot, Egremont, the special enemy 
of Salisbury's sons, and Lords Beaumont and Grey de 
Ruthyn, encamped in the meadows outside the town, 
beside Delapre Abbey, with the river Nene behind 
him : a strong position defended by artillery. 

Warwick was still loyal — according to Yorkist 
ideas of loyalty — and was apparently stiU honestly 
persuaded that aU that was necessary was an entire 
change of ministry. Accordingly he made every 
effort to avoid a conflict and to come to a peaceful 
understanding. Three times he sent to the King 
beseeching an interview to explain himself. The 
first time he sent several bishops with a small body 
of men, but they were repulsed with scorn by Buck- 
ingham, who stood beside the King. After that he 
twice sent a herald, the last time to say that "at ij 
houres after none he wolde speke with hym or elles 
dye in the feeld." ^ The Archbishop of Canterbury 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 209. 
^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 97. 



300 HENRY VI [ueo 

also sent a bishop, who, however, the second time he 
went did not return, but sHpped away. These over- 
tures being rejected, at two o'clock Warwick advanced 
to the attack. The young Earl of March, " beyn 
lusty and in the floure of his coragious yought," ^ 
bore his father's banner on the right wing, and there 
fought his first battle. Warwick commanded the 
centre, and Eauconberg the left wing. Instructions 
were issued by Warwick before the battle that the 
King and the common people were to be spared, and 
destruction launched only upon the lords, knights and 
squires. The battle lasted but half an hour.' The 
King's artillery, by which his position should have 
been so well defended, " avayled nat, for that day was 
so grete rayne that the gonnes lay depe in the water 
and so were queyut and myghte nat be shott." ^ 
Nevertheless Henry's strong entrenchments would 
have given the Yorkists much trouble to gain had not 
treachery come to their aid. When March led his 
attack through the heavy rain on the Royalist left 
wing. Lord Grey de Ruthyn and his men, instead of 
withstanding him, displayed Warwick's badge of the 
Ragged Staff and helped the assailants over the 
barrier. Once within the camp March was quickly 
able to clear the way for the entrance of the rest. 
The day was lost for Henry. Buckingham, Shrews- 
bury, Beaumont and Egremont were all slain in the 
last rally round the King's tent. Sir William Lucy, 
" that goode knyght . . . that dwellyd besyde Northe- 

^ Hall's Chronicle, 244. 

2 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 97. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROVi^ 301 

hampton, hyrde the gonne schotte and come unto 
the fylde to have holpjni the kjmge," but " at his 
first approche was striken in the hed with an axe." ^ 
About three hundred others of the King's men perished, 
many being drowned in the flooded river Nene, by 
the mill. Henry, with his usual aversion to fleeing 
from his own subjects, remained in his tent, and, " left 
alone disconsolate, was taken and apprehended as a 
man borne and predestinate to troble, misery and 
calamite." ^ 

A ballad of the time tells of the battle of Northampton 
under the guise of a hunt or bear-baiting, in which 
the bear (Warwick) and his bear-ward ^ (March) turn 
upon the huntsman (King Henry) and his dogs 
(Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and others), and incident- 
ally kill a buck (the Duke of Buckingham). 

*' Now shal ye here a marvelous case, 

The Bereward and the Bere thei did the Dogges chace 
And put theyme to flight, to gret confucioune. 

Talbot ontrewe was the oon Dogges name, 

Rauling Bewmond anodre, I understonde, 

The third also was made ful tame, 

He was called bolde Egremonde. 

When the Bereward come to the grounde 

Where he chased the foresaid leese,* 

Amonge alle other a Buk he founde. 

The wh che was hye and fat of grease. 

The coriages Berward put hym ferre in preese 

To the Hunt ^ oure Kyng he hyed hym ful fast. 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 207. 
2 Hall's Chronicle, 244. 

^ The keeper of the bear was called the bear ward. 
* Leash of hounds. ^ Huntsman. 



302 HENRY VI [1460 

The Bere, for alle the Dogges wold not seese 

But hyed hym sone afftre swyfftly in hast. 

The Dogges barked at hem ful faste, 

The Buk sat up his homes on hye, 

The Berward thei cryed ther wold downe cast, 

The Bere also, f that he come nye. 

The Bereward asked no questione why 

But on the Dogges he set f ulle rounde ; 

The Bere made the Dogges to cry, 

And w' his pawme cast theyme to grounde. 

The game was done in a little stounde. 

The Buk was slayne and borne a-way ; 

A-gayne the Bere than was none hounde 

But he might sporte and take his play. 

But the Hunt ^ he saved from harme th' day. 

He thought never other in alle his mynde, 

He lowted downe and at his fote lay 

In token to hym that he was kynde. 

The Bereward also, the Hunters frende 

Felle downe on krxe, saying w* obedience 

' Souerejme lord, thenk us not unkynde 

Nor take ye this in none ofifence.' 

The Hunt answerid w* gret mekenesse 
' The Dogges wrought a-gayne alle kynde ; 
Thei labored to bryng me in distresse, 
I was theire mayster and specialle frende. 
The Buk ran be-fore, the Dogges be-hynde, 
I folowed affter, I wist never why.' " ^ 

A true description of Henry's situation ! 

After the battle Henry was ceremoniously escorted 
by Warwick and March into Northampton, where he 
stayed three days, after which the whole company 
proceeded to London, which was reached on 16 July. 
The King was lodged in the Bishop of London's Palace 
beside St. Paul's. 

^ Huntsman, the Kling. * Archceologia, xxix. 334. . 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 303 

Salisbury meanwhile had kept London, but had 
not yet reduced the Tower. As the same ballad says — 

" The Egle ^ from Londone was never remeving, 
But hovid and wayted upon his pray : 
Alle his delite was ever in fisshing, 
The Fisshe were closed in pyttes al way." ^ 

The " fish " in this case were Lords Scales, Vesci, 
Lovell and Delaware, the Earl of Kendal and others. 
At length however — 

" The Fisshe was feynte and litelle of might," 

and three days after the triumphant return of Warwick 
with the King the Tower was forced to surrender 
through lack of supplies. The leaders made an 
attempt at flight, and — 

" Alle thei had scaped upon a nyghfc 
Save theire Skales were plucked a -way." ^ 

Lord Scales, whose name is thus played upon, had 
taken a boat late in the evening and attempted to 
slip down the river unobserved to Westminster. But 
a woman saw him, and he was followed by a number 
of the Thames boatmen, who fell upon him and killed 
him, casting his body ashore by the church of St. 
Mary Overy, South wark. " And grete pyte it was," 
says the chronicler, " that so noble and so worshipful 
a knyghte, and so welle approved in the warrys of 
Normandy and France, shuld dy so myschevously." * 

1 Salisbury. ^ Archceologia, xxix. 334. ^ Ibid. 

* English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 98. 



304 HENRY VI [1460 

Warwick and March, who had not wished for his 
death, accorded him honourable burial. Of the rest 
in the Tower, Sir Thomas Brown of Kent and five 
others of Exeter's household, who had previously 
served under Warwick, were executed at Tyburn. 

Queen Margaret and her son, who at the time of 
the battle of Northampton had left Coventry and gone 
to Eccleshall Castle for safety, on hearing of the 
defeat of the King's army fled towards Wales. Near 
Malpas in Cheshire they fell into the hands of John 
Clyer, servant of Lord Stanley, a man whom Margaret 
is said to have raised to office in her household, but 
who now robbed her of all her goods and threatened 
her life. She and the Prince, however, escaped, and 
riding for the most part behind a devoted young 
gentleman of fourteen named John Combe, reached 
Harlech Castle, the stronghold of Jasper, Earl of 
Pembroke, Henry's half-brother, where she was very 
well received. 

Warwick and his companions, secure in having the 
King — and consequently the royal authority — in their 
hands, were now able to install themselves in power 
with all the appearance of loyalty and constitutional 
observance. An exclusively Yorkist ministry was 
appointed immediately upon their arrival in London. 
George Neville, Bishop of Exeter, became Chancellor, 
and Lord Bourchier Treasurer ; Salisbury was made 
Lieutenant for the six Northern Counties which were 
not yet subdued; his son John Neville, now released 
from his imprisonment, became Chamberlain to the 
King ; William Bourchier was appointed Constable of 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 305 

the Tower, while Warwick became once more in name 
as well as in fact Captain of Calais. A Parliament was 
then summoned for 7 October, nearly three months 
ahead. 

About 15 August Warwick returned to Calais for 
a short time, and armed with his new authority induced 
Somerset without difficulty to give up his vain struggle, 
and a pacification took place at Newnham Bridge. 
Afterwards, however, the Duke slipped away with 
Trollope and went to Dieppe, crossing quietly from 
there to England about 21 September, remaining in 
obscurity in the South until the Queen sent for 
him. 

Warwick after this reconciliation returned to Eng- 
land, taking with him his mother, the Countess of 
Sahsbury, and his wife Anne, both of whom had been 
left at Calais until the Yorkists had secured their 
position, and who now returned to the Neville house 
in London, at Cold Harbour. 

Meanwhile James II of Scotland had taken advantage 
of the distracted state of England to besiege the town 
and castle of Roxburgh, and Fauconberg was sent 
north to defend it. James, however, met with an 
untimely fate on 3 August, being killed by the bursting 
of one of his own cannon — a penalty, as a later Scottish 
writer pointed out, for displaying more curiosity about 
the mechanism of his artillery than was becoming in 
a king. His army nevertheless reduced Roxburgh 
on the 8th, and also took Wark before they dispersed. 

At last, early in September ^ 1460, York landed in 
^ The date is variously given as the 2nd or the 8th. 



306 HENRY VI [1460 

Cheshire, or South Lancashire,^ and proceeded to 
Chester and Ludlow. But these months of delay 
had made a great difference in his attitude. The 
agreement made with Warwick in March had evidently 
been, judging from the latter's conduct, to maintain 
a loyal attitude of patriotic reform. This was what 
Warwick had acted upon, and at that time it expressed 
his own sincere position. But the success of North- 
ampton and the apparently secure position of the 
Yorkists evidently proved too great a temptation for 
Richard's ambitious spirit. Whether he had treasured 
in secret the idea of a bid for the crown or not, from 
this time forward he never lost sight of it, and thus he 
took the step from avowed loyalty to open treason, 
from allegiance to the King's person and estate to the 
determination for his downfall. He did not, however, 
as yet make any open avowal of his aims, and people 
were divided in their opinions as to his true motive, 
some saying that he came to restore concord and reform 
the country, and others that he had designs against 
the King, and wished to vindicate his title as heir to 
the throne. His intention, however, was made suffi- 
ciently clear, shortly before his arrival in London, by 
his bold assumption of the Royal Arms. Henry does 
not seem to have been greatly disturbed by the news 

^ The Chronicles give as his landing-place " RedclifE " in Lancashire 
and " Redbanke " near Chester. Neither of these places appear to 
have survived. The only Redbank in that district is inland near 
Manchester: " Redcliff," Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. 
Gairdner), 208; "Redbank," Stevenson, Letters and Papers of 
Reign of Hen. VI (Rolls Ser.), II. ii. 774; "Apud Httus rubeuni,'* 
Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 376. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 307 

of^his landing, for about this time he went down to 
Eltham and Greenwich " to hunt and sport hym 
there " until the opening of Parliament. ^ York did 
not hasten to London, but by " dyvers straunge com- 
missions fro the Kyng " ^ — or perhaps from Warwick 
in the King's name — held sessions at Ludlow, Shrews- 
bury, Hereford, Leicester, Coventry and other places. 

The Duchess of York, now released from the irk- 
some guardianship of her sister, went about the 
middle of September to Southwark, but when she 
had been there a few days her husband sent for her 
to come to him at Hereford, and she hastened to meet 
him, travelling in a chair covered with blue velvet. 
Her two younger sons, George and Richard, and her 
daughter, Margaret, remained behind, and were visited 
daily by their brother the Earl of March. ^ York 
at length reached Abingdon, and from there he rode 
into London on 10 October, preceded by heralds and 
trumpeters, having a sword carried before him in 
kingly style " with great pomp and no little exaltation 
of spirit." * Parliament had met three days before, 
and had lost no time in reversing the attainders of 
1459. York, on his arrival with five hundred men, 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 525, let. 357. ^ m^ 

^ The Paston Letter 357, which mentions these events, is dated 
Oct. 12, which must clearly be an error. It would seem to have been 
written towards the end of September, for (i) York arrived in London 
on Oct. 10, and he is here spoken of as still being n the West or Mid- 
lands : (ii) Henry is said to be awaiting the opening of Parliament, 
which occurred on Oct. 7 ; (iii) Somerset is spoken of as being still 
at Dieppe, which he left " about the feast of St. Matthew," which 
falls on Sept. 21. 
4 Whethamstede, Reg. Hon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 376. 



308 HENRY VI [1460 

went straight to Westminster, and, entering Parliament, 
strode up to the royal throne, which was vacant, and 
placed his hand upon the cushion as if to seat himself, 
but observing how the Lords and people " ran together 
and looked," ^ he prudently drew back. Archbishop 
Bourchier, recovering from his astonishment, then 
approached and suggested that York should seek an 
audience with the King, whereupon the Duke haughtily 
and significantly replied that " he did not know of 
any one in the Kingdom whom it did not rather 
behove to come to him." ^ The Archbishop, much 
dismayed, hastily withdrew to tell the King of this 
strange happening. York, not content with this 
insult, then went to the Palace, and Henry, fortunately 
for himself, being in the Queen's apartments, Richard 
entered, " brak up the dores of the Kynges chambre," ^ 
and established himself there; nor would he consent 
to see Henry until a settlement had been arrived at. 

But this time York had gone too far. Public opinion 
was outraged by his violent and insulting behaviour 
to the gentle King, and also by his sudden assumption 
of the royal claim, for which extreme measure they 
were not prepared. The people murmured against 
him, reminding each other of the many oaths which 
he had sworn to do nothing against the King or his 
estate. Moreover, Warwick was genuinely disturbed 
and indignant. The worthy Earl was by no means 
prepared to give his support to the rash and high- 
handed action of his ambitious uncle, and he remon- 

1 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls Ser.), i. 377. 
' Ihid. 3 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 99. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 309 

strated with him in no mild terms. With his brother 
Thomas he went to the palace and treated York to 
many " hard words," as yet, however, without effect, 
whereupon he departed in wrath. On 16 October 
Richard laid before the House of Lords a formal 
claim to the throne, basing it upon his direct descent 
from Henry III. This action excited a good deal of 
discussion throughout the country, but, as usual, the 
majority of people did not put themselves to the 
trouble of forming a very definite opinion on the sub- 
ject. " Ther is gret talkyng in thys contre," wrote 
Margaret Paston to her husband from Norfolk on 
21 October, " of the desyir of my Lorde of York. 
The pepyll reporte full worchepfully of my Lord of 
Warwyk. They have no fer her but that he and 
othyr scholde schewe to[o] gret favor to hem that 
have be[en] rewyllers of thys contre be-for tyme." ^ 

Meanwhile the Lords found themselves much em- 
barrassed by York's bold claim. They took the 
matter to the King, and then tried to shift it on to the 
Judges. The latter, however, wished for no such 
responsibility and returned it to the Lords, saying 
that it was none of their business. The Lords, thus 
driven to bay, took refuge behind several carefully 
drawn up objections to York's action. They drew 
attention to the repeated oaths of allegiance taken 
by the Duke and also by themselves to Henry VI. 
They referred to the Acts of Parliament and the 
parliamentary entails by which the succession had 
been secured to the dynasty of Lancaster. Lastly, 
^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i. 532, let. 361. 



310 HENRY VI [1460 

they reiterated the claim by which Henry IV, grand- 
father of Henry VI, had estabhshed himself on the 
throne as the reputed heir of Henry III. They were 
not bold enough to assert in their defence the right 
of Parliament to settle the succession to the crown, 
if necessary even in opposition to hereditary right, 
which was the root of the matter. It was, however, 
clear from their reply that the Lords as a whole were 
quite unprepared to support York's claim, and that 
there was no real wish among them to depose Henry. 

Richard was probably sagacious enough to see that 
he had been too precipitate, although he sent a deter- 
mined protest to this reply. To the first objection he 
answered that oaths were not meant to support 
untruth and injustice, but at the same time he declared 
himself willing to submit to the opinion of spiritual 
judges on that point. According to Abbot Whet- 
hamstede he had again obtained absolution from his 
oaths from the Pope,i but if this had not been already 
accomplished he doubtless relied upon the friendship 
of Cardinal Coppini for the purpose. To the rest he 
replied haughtily that Acts of Parliament were of no 
avail to exclude rightful inheritors. In short, he 
emphasized the claim of heredity, as opposed to popular 
choice in the matter of the succession. 

But his position was not strong enough to brave out 
the opposition of the Lords. The people did not show 
themselves to be decidedly for him. All the success 
he had hitherto won was due pre-eminently to the 
support of Warwick and his family, and he dared not 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 311 

quarrel with them. Accordingly, as Warwick re- 
mained obdurate, Richard was induced on 25 October 
to agree to a compromise, to which Henry also con- 
sented, " in eschuyng of effusion of Christen blode, 
by good and sad deliberation and avyce had with all 
his Lordes Spirituelx and Temporelx." ^ By this 
sufficiently remarkable arrangement Henry VI was 
to keep the crown for the remainder of his lifetime, 
after which it was to pass to Richard as the rightful 
heir to the throne, Prince Edward being entirely 
passed over. Richard was also to be immediately 
created Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Earl 
of Chester. York and his sons then did homage to 
Henry on 31 October— on condition that the King 
should keep his part of the agreement — promising 
neither to " abridge Henry's life nor hurt his dignity." ^ 
The concord was completed the same day by a solemn 
service at St. Paul's, the people in the streets acclaiming 
King Henry and Warwick. 

A week later York procured for himself the office 
of Protector, which seems an unnecessary assumption 
of authority seeing that there was no obvious need 
for such a minister. 

It was strange that Henry should thus have been 
willing to pass over the rights of his own son. But 
utterly unambitious and unworldly as he was himself, 
and doubtless finding kingship a burden hard to endure 
— though not one that he could personally escape from, 
since he was an anointed king — he probably thought 
that he was infficting no great ill upon his son in 
* Rolls of Parliament, v. 378, * Ibid. 



312 HENRY VI [1460 

relieving him of tlie prospect of a throne. Possibly 
also he felt that Richard's claim was just, and that in 
acknowledging him as the rightful heir he was expiating 
the sins of his grandfather. For the rest he most 
likely consented to this — as he did to so many things 
— for the sake of peace. 

All parties, however, had reckoned without Margaret. 
Far from consenting to the resignation of her son's 
rights, the outrage aroused in her a fury of maternal 
resentment which transformed her into a yet more 
implacable enemy of the House of York. From the 
time that her son's claims were set aside Margaret 
developed a ferocity and ruthlessness of purpose 
worthy of a tigress defending her young. 

An attempt had evidently been made by her enemies 
to lure her to London by means of counterfeit tokens 
purporting to come from the King, as they had arranged 
before the battle of Northampton : " For the lordys 
wolde fayne hadde hyr unto London, for they knewe 
welle that alle the workyngys that were done growe 
by hyr, for she was more wyttyer then the kynge, 
and that apperythe by hys dedys." ^ However, the 
bearers of the tokens, who had been in Margaret's 
household and the King's, warned her of the stratagem 
and she remained in Wales. But upon hearing of the 
" Compromise " fury roused her to action, and she 
called her supporters to arms. Exeter, who had 
joined her in Wales, she sent to rouse the West; the 
Earl of Wiltshire, who must have just ventured to 
return from abroad, was left with Jasper of Pembroke 
^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 209. 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 313 

to guard Wales, Jasper's father, Owen Tudor, being 
with them. Summonses were sent to the Earl of Devon 
and to Somerset, who, since his return to England at 
the end of September, had been living quietly at 
Corfe Castle in Dorset. Margaret herself, with Prince 
Edward, went north to Scotland, hoping to get help 
from there. The Queen-mother, Mary of Gueldres, 
and her eight-year-old son. King James III, were 
holding their Court at Lincluden Abbey near Dumfries, 
and there Margaret and her son were entertained. 

Meanwhile the Lancastrian Lords, headed by the 
Earl of Northumberland, were assembling in the North 
of England. Lord Neville, brother of the Earl of 
Westmoreland, swelled the number of their followers 
by a wily stratagem. Going to the Duke of York 
with all the appearance of loyalty, he obtained from 
him a commission to raise a force to " chastyse the 
rebelles of the cuntre,"^ but having raised about 
8000 men on this pretence he marched with them 
to join the Lancastrians instead of chastising them, 
doubtless feeling that he and York differed as to which 
were the " rebelles." The RoyaHst Lords, Northumber- 
land, Neville, Clifford, Roos, Dacre, Latimer ^ and 
Greystock, assembled at York, where they held a 
Council, and employed the rest of their time in harrying 
the Yorkshire estates of Duke Richard and the Earl 
of Sahsbury. Exeter and Somerset, the latter dis- 
regarding his pacification with Warwick in France, 
raised the West country and marched north through 

* English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 106. 
2 Brother of Salisbury. 



314 HENRY VI [1460 

Bath, Cirencester, Evesham and Coventry towards 
the rendezvous named by Margaret at Hull. By 
December, the Lancastrian host numbered about 
15,000 men. 

The Yorkists, although they must have known from 
the first that the North was disaffected towards them, 
had neglected to make their position secure there, 
and, in spite of Salisbury's appointment as Lieutenant 
of the Northern Counties, seem to have done nothing. 
They now became somewhat tardily aware of the 
dangerous gathering at York, which had assembled 
with great secrecy. Parliament was adjourned at the 
beginning of December, and York, having obtained 
the necessary authority from the King, set out for 
the North on the 9th of that month, accompanied by 
his second son, Edmund of Rutland, and the Earl of 
Salisbury, but taking with him only 6000 men, so 
little did he realize the strength of the Lancastrians. 
His eldest son, March, who had made his reputation 
at Northampton, was sent at the same time to raise 
a force on the Welsh Marches to keep in check the 
Earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire, who were holding 
Wales for Margaret. Warwick and Norfolk remained 
in London with the King, evidently considering the 
matter of no great importance. 

As York marched north Somerset and his western 
troops were so close at hand going in the same direc- 
tion that at Worksop there was a slight skirmish, 
which, however, did not result in a general engagement. 
Northumberland and his companions had by this time 
advanced to Pontefract, and there Somerset joined 



1460] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 315 

them, while York reached his castle of Sandal, about 
six miles distant, on 21 December. A truce extended 
over Christmas, which was kept by York and Salisbury 
at Sandal, doubtless with good cheer — little thinking 
that their days were destined to end with the year. 

With regard to the conflict that followed a few 
days later the chroniclers differ. Several contem- 
porary writers ^ state that on 30 December, as York's 
men were scouring the country in search of provisions, 
presumably near Wakefield, since the battle took its 
name from that town, they were suddenly attacked 
unawares by the Lancastrians. One chronicler ^ 
points out that this was a violation of the truce, 
which was supposed to extend to the Epiphany, but 
the others do not mention it. An entirely different 
account, however, is given by Hall, who, although 
a much later writer and not always reliable, may have 
had trustworthy information in this case, since an 
ancestor of his was killed on the field. The Lancas- 
trians, he says,^ marched from Pontefract to Sandal 
and challenged York to come forth, and the Duke, 
although weak in forces, was ashamed to refuse " for 
dread of a scolding woman, whose weapon is onely 
her toungue and her nayles," and rashly determined 
to fight. But while the Duke was marching round the 
Castle Hill, the Lancastrians advanced their wings 
and, when he attacked their centre, took him like " a 

1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 107; Stevenson, Letters 
and Papers of Reign of Hen. VI (Rolls Ser.), II. ii. 775 (Dec. 29); 
Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 382. 

2 Three Fifteenth-Century Chrons. (ed. Gairdner), 154. 

3 Hall's Chronicle, 250. 



316 HENRY VI [1460-1 

deere in a buckestall " ^ on both flanks, and destroyed 
his army in half an hour. 

But whichever of these accounts is true the result 
was disaster to the Yorkists, who were completely out- 
numbered. A general slaughter followed, 2500 of the 
Duke's men being slain, together with Sir Thomas 
Neville, Salisbury's son, Lord Harrington, Warwick's 
brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Harrington and others, 
including the leaders themselves. The Lancastrians 
rioted in vengeance. York, being taken, was set upon 
an ant-hill and crowned with a wreath of grass, while 
his captors bent mockingly before him, crying " Hail, 
King without a kingdom ! " after which he was be- 
headed and his head set upon a pike.^ The young 
Earl of Rutland, fleeing for his life, was slain upon the 
bridge of Wakefield by Lord Clifford in revenge for 
his father's death at St. Albans. Salisbury was cap- 
tured the same evening by a servant of Trollope and 
taken to Pontefract. There on the following day he 
was beheaded, as some say, by the Bastard of Exeter ; 
according to another writer, however, he bought his 
life for a large sum of money, but the " commune peple 
of the cuntre whyche loved hym nat, tooke hym oute 
of the castelle by violence and smote of his hed." ^ 
Such was the vengeance wreaked upon the Yorkists. 
The Lancastrians are said to have lost only two 
hundred men in the engagement. The heads of 
Salisbury, Rutland and York, the last decorated 

^ A net for catching deer. 

2 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 382. 

3 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 107. 



1461] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 317 

with a paper crown, were set over the south gate of 
York. 

It seems that Margaret only reached York on her 
return from Scotland after the battle of Wakefield was 
over. The ruthless and brutal character which the 
war now assumed must be largely attributed to the 
composition of her army, which seems to have included 
all the wildest elements of the North, with the lawless 
men of the Scottish borders and all the riff-raff who 
joined them for the sake of plunder, for it was rumoured 
that she had given them permission to rob the south- 
eastern counties at their pleasure. With her usual lack 
of perception, Margaret did not foresee that this lawless 
host would ruin the prospects of herself and her husband 
by the hostility which their excesses aroused. By the 
end of January bitter complaints were already heard of 
their misdeeds : "In this country," writes Clement 
Paston, presumably from East Anglia, " every man is 
well willing to go with my Lords here,^ and I hope God 
shall help them, for the people in the north rob and 
steal and be appointed to pillage all this country and 
give away men's goods and livelihoods in all the south 
country, and that will ask a mischief. My Lords that 
are here have as much as they may do to keep down 
all this country, more than four or five shires, for they 
would be up on the men in the north, for it is for the 
well of all the south." ^ 

Warwick was now in a more prominent position than 
ever as the only experienced leader left to the Yorkists. 

1 The Yorkists, probably the Duke of Norfolk and others. 

2 Paston Letters ed. Gairdner), i. 540, let. 367. 



318 HENRY VI [1461 

He was in his thirty-third year and at the height of 
his popularity. The death of his father, while it 
greatly embittered his strife with the Queen, brought 
more additions to his power, for the broad lands of the 
Earldom of Salisbury were now added to his own 
immense domains as Earl of Warwick. His territorial 
position was without a rival. His political position, 
however, was difficult. Recognized by the people as 
the champion of reform from the most patriotic and 
disinterested motives, still professing loyalty to Henry 
VI, he was yet being rapidly forced, almost against 
his will, into antagonism to Henry's very sovereignty. 
He had been able to prevent Richard from pushing his 
claim to the throne to extremes, but now, by the 
deliberate executions of Wakefield, the feud had 
deepened beyond all hope of reconciliation, and 
Richard's eldest son, the young Edward of March, 
might be expected to take up his father's pretensions 
with vigour, for he was as ambitious as his sire without 
being endowed with the Duke's more solid and scrupu- 
lous qualities. For this reason Richard's death was a 
loss to the country, for he would undoubtedly have 
made a better and wiser ruler than his vain and 
impetuous son, whose qualities were solely those of a 
brilliant soldier. 

As yet, however, Warwick continued to rule in the 
name of King Henry, and, in his own interests, to 
protect him from the actions of his misguided wife. 
York's two younger sons, George and Richard — the 
future Richard III — he sent abroad for safety, to the 



1461] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 319 

Court of the Duke of Burgundy, who received them 
most graciously.^ 

The young Edward of March, meanwhile, had been 
enhancing his reputation as a general. After keeping 
his Christmas at Shrewsbury, he moved south into 
Herefordshire, and on 2 February encountered the 
Earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire, with the Welshmen 
who had rallied to the Queen's cause, at Mortimer's 
Cross, between Wigmore and Leominster. The Earls, 
being considerably outnumbered, were defeated and 
put to flight with heavy loss. Jasper of Pembroke 
escaped, but his father, Owen Tudor, stepfather to 
Henry VI, was taken. Edward, probably burning to 
avenge the slaughter of his father and brother, caused 
Owen to be beheaded in the market-place at Hereford, 
" weyng and trustyng all eway that he shulde not be 
hedyd tylle he sawe the axe and the blocke ; and 
whenn that he was in hys dobbelet he trustyd on pardon 
and grace tylle the coler of hys redde vellvet dobbelet 
was ryppyd of. Then he sayde, ' That hede shalle ly 
on the stocke that was wonte to ly on Queue Kateryns 
lappe ' . . . and fulle mekely toke hys dethe." His 
head was set upon the highest " gryce " ^ of the 
market cross, and " a mad woman combed his hair and 
washed away the blood off his face, and she got candles 
and set about him burning, more than a hundred." ^ 
Thus perished the grandfather of Henry VII. Edward, 

^ His son, Charles the Bold, afterwards married their sister 
Margaret. - Step. 

^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 211. 



320 HENRY VI [1461 

still pursuing his vengeance, slew also John Throgmor- 
ton and eight other captives. 

Early in 1461 Margaret began to march south with 
her unruly army, numbering about 80,000 men, in 
such " inflation of spirit " that they considered " one 
of them quite sufficient to subjugate a thousand from 
the south." 1 Before setting out, Warwick's cousins 
of the Westmoreland branch had followed the general 
example by plundering his newly inherited estates. 
The army moved south, leaving a trail of ruin behind 
it. Grantham, Stamford, Peterboro', Huntingdon, 
Melbourne and Royston were sacked one after the 
other, the soldiers robbing the country and its in- 
habitants all around, and " spoiling Abbeys and houses 
of religion and churches ... as they had been 
Paynims or Saracens and no Christian men," ^ to the 
consternation of every one and the detriment of 
Margaret's cause. Reaching Dunstable on 16 February, 
they fell in with a Yorkist troop under Edward Poyn- 
ings ; his men were dispersed and himself killed with 
two hundred of them. 

Meanwhile, on 28 January, Warwick had issued 
summonses to his friends in the King's name, command- 
ing them to raise forces in all possible haste and join 
him against the " mysruled and outerageous people in 
the north parties of this reaume," who were "comyng 
towards thees parties to the destruction therof , of you, 
and the subversion of all our lande." A goodly com- 
pany of his relatives and friends having assembled, 

1 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 388. 
^ English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 107. 



1461] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 321 

Warwick left London and went to St. Albans on 
12 February, accompanied by his brother John, his 
other brother the Bishop of Exeter, his brother-in-law 
the Earl of Arundel, Lord Bourchier, the Dukes of 
Norfolk and Suffolk and others. King Henry was also 
persuaded — or compelled — to accompany them to lend 
them the prestige of his presence. The Yorkist camp 
was pitched on Barnard's Heath, between St. Albans 
and Sandridge, the outposts extending into the former 
town, and the position being strengthened with " many 
a gynne of wer." Warwick's archers were provided 
with wondrous arrows " with six feathers, three in the 
midst and three at the other end, with a great mighty 
head of iron at the other end, and wild fire withal " ; 
but the unfortunate thing about these weapons was 
that when they tried to discharge them " the fyre 
turnyd backe a-pon them that wold schute." ^ There 
were also nets spread on the ground, with a nail standing 
upright at every two knots; and " pavys " — large 
shields — which were stuck " as full of 3^ nails as 
they might stand," from behind which the archers 
discharged their shots and afterwards threw them 
down, so that any one coming over the said 3^ nails 
" wolde myschyffe hym sylfe." ^ All these prepara- 
tions, however, seem to have rather failed of their due 
effect when the time came. 

On 17 February Margaret came up from Dunstable, 
which' had also been sacked, and found herself at three 
o'clock in the morning at the village of St. Michaels, 
on the outskirts of St. Albans, at the bottom of the 

1 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 213. ^ Ibid. 
Y 



322 HENRY VI [1461 

hill to the south-west of the town. Warwick's army 
was encamped outside the opposite end of the town, 
on the crest of the rising ground. When day came 
Margaret's soldiers pressed their way up the long and 
winding Fishpool Street from St. Michaels to the centre 
of the town,^ but upon approaching the market cross 
they met with a body of Warwick's archers, who drove 
them back down the hill. 

This first attack having failed, the Lancastrians took 
fresh courage and advanced to the attack by a different 
route. Working round " by the lane leading north to 
St. Peter's Street," now represented by Folly Lane and 
Catherine Street, and breaking in upon Warwick's men 
in the open space below St. Peter's Church, they drove 
them up the street and out on to the heath. Warwick, 
whose scouts had misinformed him with regard to 
Margaret's proximity, seems not to have been fully 
prepared for this attack, and his line once broken he 
could not properly form it again on the bushy and 
broken ground of the heath. His men fought hard 
for a time, but at length Lovelace, who had fought on 
the Lancastrian side at Wakefield and had only recently 
joined the Yorkists, drew off with a body of Kentish 
men, which so disconcerted Warwick's vanguard that, 
becoming insubordinate, they broke and fled into what 
cover they could find. Warwick, seeing that the day 
was going ill, withdrew King Henry to a common called 
No Man's Land, an open place about three miles from 
St. Albans. The main body of the Yorkists held out 
until nightfall, when they also fled, and Margaret's 
^ See map opposite p. 256. 



1461] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 323 

field was won. Warwick finding that Henry, far from 
having spirit or mind to encourage his men, was 
wishing — as might have been expected — to rejoin his 
wife, prudently retired with the remnants of his army, 
leaving Henry to his own devices. When Margaret's 
men came up they found the King sitting under an 
oak tree, " smiling to see the discomfiture of the 
army." ^ He was taken to the tent of Lord Clifford, 
and the Queen and Prince brought to him there, where- 
upon, greatly rejoicing, he took them in his arms and 
kissed them, thanking God.^ 

On the following day little Prince Edward, arrayed 
in a purple- velvet brigandine adorned with goldsmith's 
work, received his father's blessing and was solemnly 
knighted, although he was only in his eighth year. 
Andrew Trollope, who had been hurt in the foot by a 
caltrap,^ was also knighted, protesting that he did not 
deserve the honour, for, he said, " I slowe but xv men, 
for I stode stylle in oo place and they come unto me, 
but they bode stylle with me." * Margaret, who seems 
to have imbibed the spirit of the Northern men, im- 
proved the occasion by bringing up two prisoners. Lord 
Bonville and Sir Thomas Kjrriel, for judgment before 
her son, making the child " jugge ys owne sylfe " and 
condemn them to death. Bonville, the old-time dis- 
turber of the peace in the West, evidently gave vent to 
his feelings, for, says one chronicler, " hys longage 

^ Oman, Warwick the King-maker, 105. 

2 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Alhani (Rolls Ser.), i. 393. 

3 An instrument of iron, like a ball set with spikes, to wound 
horses' feet. 

* Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 214. 



324 HENRY VI [1461 

causyd hym to dye " i; while Kyriel — the veteran of 
Formigny — called down a curse upon the Queen's head 
for teaching the child such iniquity. 

Warwick's brother Montagu was also taken but 
afterwards released, probably at the King's command, 
seeing that he was his chamberlain. 

Henry was able to save the Abbey of St. Albans from 
plunder, which must have been a matter of some 
difficulty, but all his influence was unable to prevent 
the unhappy town being sacked a second time. 

Success now seemed in Margaret's hands, and a rapid 
advance on London might have reinstated her in 
power, and, for a time at any rate, saved Henry's 
tottering throne. No one with authority remained in 
London. Archbishop Bourchier, with the Chancellor, 
George, Bishop of Exeter, had withdrawn to Canterbury 
to await better news. Warwick had gone westward 
with the remainder of his men to seek Edward of 
March. London was undefended. But a strange 
inactivity on the part of the Lancastrians followed. 
It is said that Henry, horrified at the excesses of the 
troops, refused, regardless of his own interests, to 
allow them to advance. If so it was a creditable 
action on his part, though it cost him his crown. 
Margaret's army, in fact, proved her undoing, for the 
whole South was filled with fear and dread of the 
depredations of the wild Northmen. Rumours flew 
about that the Queen had given permission for the 
city to be sacked. The Duchess of Buckingham, 
^ Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 212. 



1461] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 325 

" with othyr wytty men with her," ^ was sent from 
London to Barnet, to negotiate with the King and 
Queen, who were there. Within the city opinion was 
divided ; some of the aldermen would have permitted 
Somerset to enter with a small band, but the people 
of London, hearing of their approach, sallied forth and 
put them to flight, not without bloodshed, after which, 
for the safety of the city, the " commoners " took 
possession of the keys of the gates to prevent further 
danger. As a result of the negotiations of the Duchess 
of Buckingham the Mayor agreed to send money 
and provisions to the Lancastrians. But when the 
convoy set out the Londoners, getting wind of the 
matter, led by one John Bishop, chief cook to Sir John 
Wenlock, fell upon the wagons at Newgate and, over- 
powering the drivers, " departyd the brede and 
vytayle a-monge the comyns." ^ The money dis- 
appeared. The Queen, enraged by this mishap, 
immediately dispatched Sir Baldwin Fulford and Sir 
Alexander Hody with a large body of men to West- 
minster, probably with a view to attempting an 
entrance on that side. But she had hesitated too 
long. 

Warwick had lost no time since his reverse at 
St. Albans. He hastened westward to meet the 
young victor of Mortimer's Cross, who had already 
started from the neighbourhood of Gloucester and was 
coming towards London. On 22 February, five days 

1 English Chronicle (ed. J. S. Davies), 109. 

- Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 214. 



326 HENRY VI [1461 

after the battle of St, Albans, a junction was effected 
at Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, or, according to 
one authority, at Burford-on-the-Wold near by. The 
two cousins had not met since the death of their 
respective fathers on the fatal day of Wakefield, and 
their feelings must have been sombre. They were, 
however, cheered much by the unexpected news of the 
determined opposition of the commoners of London to 
Margaret's entry ; doubtless they had expected to find 
her already firmly installed there. This not being the 
case, Warwick and Edward decided to march on London 
with all possible speed. The news of their coming 
preceded them, and the citizens openly rejoiced at the 
tidings. Margaret's discomfiture was completed and 
Fulford was recalled from Westminster. Seeing that 
the situation was now hopeless, she fell back with 
Henry to Dunstable and retired northwards, the army 
robbing and plundering as before, and carrying off 
everything they could lay hands on, down to spoons, 
pots and plates. William Grey, Bishop of Ely, only 
saved his cathedral by raising a small army and 
garrisoning the Isle of Ely and Wisbech against them. 
But Henry's throne was lost. Edward reached 
London about 27 February with a considerable army, 
and, entering the city, took up his quarters at Baynard's 
Castle. Warwick at last had arrived at the cross-roads 
and had to choose between loyalty to Henry or support 
of his cousin's claim to the crown. But now he was 
almost forced to take the second course. Experience 
had shown that it was hopeless to attempt to force 
administrative reforms upon Henry while Margaret 



1461] YORKIST CLAIM TO THE CROWN 327 

was there to destroy them at the first possible minute. 
It was Margaret who brought about Henry's ruin. 
The King was the passive emblem of authority, passed 
about from hand to hand as though he had been the 
Great Seal. Now that Margaret had the King once 
more in her hands she would undoubtedly use his 
authority at the first available opportunity for the 
destruction of Warwick and Edward. No mercy was 
to be looked for at her hands, and even if Henry's 
influence was strong enough to withstand his wife's 
designs, there was no good reason to suppose that he 
would wish to exert it in favour of these two lords, for 
whom he had not displayed any affection. Moreover, 
as another heavy strain on Warwick's loyalty, the 
blood of his father and his uncle had stained Lancastrian 
hands, and he could not as yet forget it. Margaret, the 
obstacle to all peace and reform, could not be removed 
without involving Henry in her overthrow ; there- 
fore Warwick was forced to decide — we may believe, 
from his former conduct, reluctantly — that it was 
necessary to consent to Henry's downfall also. Rather 
than allow the chaotic state of affairs of the last ten 
years to continue, it would seem better to sacrifice the 
Lancastrian dynasty and give the country a fresh 
chance under a new king^ — and one who, after all, was 
the direct heir. There was no chance for Warwick with 
Lancaster ; if he did not support the Yorkist cause to 
its logical conclusion he must be content to give up his 
lifelong struggle for reform. Thus Warwick became 
the " King-maker." 

On 1 March, 1461 the Chancellor, Neville, addressed 



328 HENRY VI [1461 

a great concourse of the citizens of London in Clerken- 
well Fields, while the Yorkist soldiers kept order. He 
publicly explained Edward's title, and solemnly de- 
clared his claim to the throne of England, an announce- 
ment which met with demonstrations of approval. In 
order to give a sort of legality to the proceedings, a 
few Yorkist Lords who were near at hand were hastily 
summoned to London, and these, consisting of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, the three Nevilles — War- 
wick, Fauconberg and the Bishop of Exeter — the Duke 
of Norfolk, Lord Fitzwalter, Lord Ferrers of Chartley 
and the Bishop of Salisbury, held a Council on 3 March 
at Baynard's Castle, together with a few knights and 
a deputation of London citizens. It was there decided 
that Edward should assume the crown as the rightful 
ruler by descent. Accordingly on the following day 
Edward, a tall and valiant youth in his twentieth 
year, rode in state to St. Paul's, and thence to West- 
minster Hall, where he addressed the assembled 
multitude from the throne. His claim being again 
received with the acclamations of all present, he pro- 
ceeded into the abbey, where he received the crown 
and sceptre of England as Edward IV, and as such was 
proclaimed throughout London. 



CHAPTER X 

1461-1471 : HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE — 
RESTORATION AND DEATH OF HENRY VI 

In spite of the formal deposition of Henry VI, 
sanctioned apparently by the City of London, Margaret's 
energy kept the conflict alive for three years longer. 
Had she been less ambitious and determined her un- 
fortunate husband might have ended his days com- 
fortably in a monastery, or some other peaceful spot, 
instead of in the Tower. But Margaret, in her thirty- 
third year and retaining her youthful beauty, still 
wielded considerable influence, especially in the North, 
and would not give up her queenship without a pro- 
longed struggle. She had withdrawn northwards with 
her army, but she was not defeated, and Edward knew 
well that he must lose no time in breaking her strength 
if he had any desire to make his position on the throne 
secure. 

The very day after his " accession," accordingly, 
Norfolk was dispatched to East Anglia to collect forces ; 
on 6 March Warwick set out northwards for the same 
purpose ; another week sufficed to collect the men of the 
South-East, the Welsh Marches and the Midlands. 

" The White Ship of Brystow,^ he feryd not that fray, 
The Black Ram of Coventre, he said not one nay ; 

^ The " white ship " of Bristol, displayed on the banner of the 
town. The other towns are similarly represented by their bearings. 

329 



330 HENRY VI [1461 

The Wolf cam fro Worcetre, ful sore he thought to byte, 
The Dragon cam fro Glowscetre, he bent his tayle to smyte ; 
The Griffon cam fro Leycestre, fleying m as tyte,^ 
The George cam fro Notyngham w* spere for to fyte. 

The Wild Rat fro Northamptone w* hur brode nose ; 
There was many a f ayre pjmone, wayting upon the Rose ; * 
Blessid be the tyme that ever God sped that floure ! " ^ 

On 12 or 13 March 1461, therefore, Edward set out 
from London with many Yorkist Lords and a large 
army. Hurrying north and overtaking Warwick he 
reached Pontefract on the 27th and there paused. The 
Lancastrians were near at hand in full force, covering 
the roads to York, where Henry, with his wife and son, 
was stationed. Their army was encamped in the 
neighbourhood of Towton, with the river Aire between 
them and the advancing Yorkists. The vanguard of 
Henry's army, under the command of Lord Clifford, 
held the passage of the Aire at Ferrybridge. 

On Saturday the 28th Lord Fitz waiter was sent by 
Edward to attack this position, and a sharp skirmish 
followed, in which Fitzwalter was killed and Warwick 
wounded in the leg by an arrow. However, another 
detachment of Yorkists succeeded in crossing the 
river without opposition at Castleford, three miles 
further up, whereupon CHfford, finding his flank un- 
expectedly threatened, fell back hastily towards the 
main army. But so hot was the pursuit that he was 
overtaken at Dintingdale, near the village of Saxton, 

^ " In estate," i.e. in his dignity. 

2 Edward IV, called the " Rose of Rouen," from the town 
where he was born. 

^ Archceohgia, 1842, xxix. 346-7. 



1461] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 331 

and Clifford himself slain, with Lord Neville ^ and 
many of their men. 

The whole of Edward's army now crossed the Aire 
and advanced towards Saxton, and on Palm Sunday, 
29 March, it was drawn up to the east of that village, 
with the httle valley of Dintingdale in front, and the 
village of Scarthingwell on the right. The vanguard 
on the left was led by the valiant little Fauconberg, 
" that second Achilles " ^ ; Warwick and Edward were 
in the centre, while Norfolk and his men, who should 
have formed the right wing, had not yet arrived. The 
Lancastrians held a strong but slightly cramped 
position opposite, on the high ground in front of Tow- 
ton, with the flooded stream of the Cock on their right, 
and the high road from Ferrybridge to Towton — a 
danger rather than a protection — on their left. Henry, 
who seems to have felt objections to fighting on a 
Sunday, was left at York, ten miles away, where he 
occupied himself in hearing Mass at the minster. 

Before the battle Edward made proclamation that 
no quarter was to be given, and about nine o'clock in 
the morning his army advanced to the attack, crossing 
Dintingdale and pushing up the opposite slope. At 
the moment when the two armies came within hail of 
each other and raised a loud shout, a sudden snow 
squall sprang up, and being driven by the wind full 
in the faces of the Lancastrians, " their sight was 
somewhat blemished and minished." * Fauconberg, 

^ John, brother of the Earl of Westmoreland. 

2 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 410. 

3 Hall's Chronicle, 253. 



332 HENRY VI [1461 

seizing his advantage, sent forward his archers, who 
with the wind behind them shot into the enemy's 
ranks and then retired, while the latter, blinded by the 
blizzard and unable to see where the Yorkists were, 
wasted their shots upon the bare ground. When their 
shooting ceased Fauconberg's men again advanced 
and, gathering up the arrows, appropriated some and 
stuck others upright in the ground, " which sore noyed 
the legges of the owners when the battayle ioyned," ^ 
All the morning the Yorldsts fought their way doggedly 
up the slope, and the battle, which excelled all previous 
engagements of the war in numbers engaged, in 
fierceness of fighting and in slaughter, was waged on 
the hill-top with varjing success. Part of the Yorkist 
left wing was driven back and pursued with more zeal 
than discretion by Lord Rivers and Andrew TroUope. 
Northumberland, however, who commanded the Lan- 
castrian centre, was unable to follow up this success, 
for he had as much as he could do to cope with Warwick 
and Edward. The fight was always hottest round 
Warwick, who bore himself as " a new Hector." ^ 
The advance of Rivers and TroUope therefore merely 
caused a dislocation of the Lancastrian line. 

Finally, the tide was turned by the arrival of Norfolk 
on the Yorkist right wing. He seems to have been 
delayed in collecting his troops in the East, or possibly 
by the indisposition of the previous day attributed to 
him by Hall. Turning the Lancastrian left wing by 
the high road, he thus cut off their retreat to Towton 

1 Hall's Chronicle, 256. 

2 Whethamstede, Reg. Mon. St. Albani (Rolls Ser.), i. 409. 



Map to ilhjstrateih*^ BaDJe oCTowtoTi r_j York ^Lonc 




Londont Constable & C?L'^ifton.Pr.«d 4 C? L'^ 



1461] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 333 

and drove them back westwards upon the Cock, a 
stream " not very broade but of a great deapnes," ^ 
and which proved the undoing of many. For several 
hours longer the Lancastrians stubbornly contested 
the ground, but at length they broke and fled, the 
Yorkists pursuing them with merciless slaughter. 
Thousands were drowned in the Cock or slain where 
they were overtaken, for none were spared. A running 
fight was maintained all through the night, up to the 
very gates of York, and all the way the snow was stained 
with blood. According to the Paston Letters twenty- 
eight thousand fell in the battle, numbered by heralds.^ 
On Henry's side were slain Northumberland, Beau- 
mont, Dacre, Trollope and many other Northern Lords. 
The Bastard of Exeter and the Earl of Devon, who 
" was seke " — doubtless wounded — were taken and 
afterwards beheaded. Henry, with Margaret and the 
Prince, accompanied by Somerset, Exeter and several 
others who had escaped from the battle, fled from York 
on the Sunday evening, " fulle of sorowe and hevynys, 
no wondjrr." ^ 

Next morning Edward entered York, where he was 
received " with gret solempnyte and processyons," * 
and taking down the heads of his relatives from the 
gate, replaced them by those of Devon and three 
others. After remaining in the city for several weeks 
he advanced towards the end of April to Durham, 

1 Hall's Chronicle, 256. 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 6, let. 385. 

3 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 217. 
* Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 5, let. 385. 



334 HENRY VI [1461 

and thence, at the beginning of May, to Newcastle. 
There he beheaded the Earl of Wiltshire, who had been 
captured shortly before at Cockermouth, and sent his 
head to London to be set on the bridge. Henry and 
Margaret lingered in England as long as possible, and 
in the middle of April Henry, at any rate, seems to 
have been still in Yorkshire. " I heard," wrote Thomas 
Playters to John Paston, " that Henry the sixth is in 
a place in Yorkshire called Coroumbe ; such a name it 
hath or much like. And there is siege laid about, and 
divers squires of the Earl of Northumberland's gathered 
them together five or six thousand men to bicker with 
the siege, that in the meanwhile Henry the sixth might 
have been stole away at a little postern on the back 
side ; at which bicker were slain three thousand men of 
the north. . . . Some say the Queen, Somerset and 
the Prince should be there." ^ 

Evidently Henry had a narrow escape. As Edward 
advanced the fugitives retreated from Newcastle to 
Alnwick, and finally thence to Berwick, but there 
Margaret made another of those remarkable mistakes 
to which she was prone, and which could not fail to 
rouse feeling against her in England. In order to 
gain the goodwill of the Scottish Court and persuade 
them to grant her help she handed over to the Scots 
that cherished town, the bulwark of the English border, 
on 25 April. Even Henry had the intelligence to see 
that this was going too far, and is said only to have con- 
sented to it against his better judgment, "constrained 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 7 let. 386. 



1461] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 335 

thereunto in this extreme misery." i This done, 
however, the fugitives were allowed to take refuge in 
Scotland. They were given shelter at the Black- 
friars in Edinburgh, and also at the stately palace of 
Linlithgow, but their favourable reception was not 
destined to last very long. Edward, finding that they 
were beyond his reach, left Warwick and Montagu to 
keep guard in the North, and after a progress through 
the Midlands returned to London, where he was 
crowned with due solemnity on 28 June, 1461, 

Meanwhile the Scots, roused by Margaret, crossed 
the border at the end of May or the beginning of June, 
and laid siege to Carlisle. Montagu, however, raised 
the siege and beat them off with heavy loss. In June 
also, Henry in person led an army into England, 
penetrating as far south as Brancepeth in Durham, 
but on the 26th he was driven back. 

The position of the Lancastrians in Scotland was far 
from secure, in spite of the support bought by the 
surrender of Berwick. Edward IV was not content 
to leave them there without an effort to dislodge them 
by diplomatic methods, and he had various means of 
influencing affairs in his favour in that country. In 
the first place the Queen-mother, Mary of Gueldres, 
was the niece of Philip of Burgundy, with whom Edward 
was on very friendly terms. He therefore induced 
Philip to use all his influence with Mary to win her over 
to the Yorkist cause — an object which was presently 
accomplished. Besides this, as crowned and acknow- 

^ Three books of Polydore VergWs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 
112. 



336 HENRY VI [1461 

ledged King of England Edward was able to work upon 
the official government of James III to aid him against 
his " traitors " ; and thirdly, through the Earl of 
Douglas, who was an exile in England, he was able to 
conclude an alliance with John, Earl of Ross and Lord 
of the Isles, and thus threaten the Scots with trouble 
from the Celts in the West, Thus, after a while, 
Margaret and her husband found that their welcome 
at the Scottish Court began to be outworn. Bishop 
Kennedy of St. Andrews, however, always a stout 
Lancastrian, remained their friend, although he was 
unable to carry out the project of a marriage between 
Prince Edward and the sister of James III. For some 
time they were permitted to wander about from place 
to place in Scotland. Towards the end of August 1461 
Henry was at Kirkcudbright, " with iiij men and a 
childe," ^ while Margaret and her son were at Edin- 
burgh with Lord Roos, Sir John Fortescue and all her 
followers. Margaret evidently stayed for some time 
at Dunfermline also, and there made herself both 
popular and useful in a more peaceful way than was 
usual with her, for she was commemorated by the 
couplet — 

" May God bless Margaret of Anjou, 
For she taught our Dunfermline webster to sew." ^ 

By October 1461 Edward's position seemed fairly 
secure. The North appeared to be quieted, and in 
Wales only the stronghold of Harlech still held out. 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 46, let. 413. 

* Strickland, Lives of the Queens of England, ii. 247. 



1461] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 337 

Jasper of Pembroke and the Duke of Exeter were 
hiding in the mountains. In November, Edward's 
first Parliament met and passed drastic measures 
against the Lancastrians. Henry IV, Henry V and 
Henry VI were declared usurpers ; Henry VI, with his 
wife and son, and all the Lancastrian Lords alive or 
dead who had fought for him at Wakefield and the 
battles since, together with various others — in all about 
one hundred and thirty persons — were declared at- 
tainted and their estates forfeited. The unfortunate 
Henry was also declared guilty of treason for fighting 
against his lawful king, and for giving up Berwick to 
the Scots. 

But Margaret, finding that little help was to be 
obtained from Scotland, turned to France. In July 
1461 Somerset, Hungerford and Whittingham were 
sent over to that country, but before they arrived 
Charles VII had died, and as the new King, Louis XI, 
was at that time at the Court of Philip of Burgundy, 
he dared not offend that Yorkist Duke by receiving 
Margaret's envoys with any cordiality. 

Accordingly Somerset was kept in ward at the castle 
of Arques in Normandy, while his two companions were 
detained at Dieppe. They were still situated thus at 
the end of August, when Hungerford and Whitting- 
ham wrote to Margaret explaining the situation, but 
expressing a hope that they would be allowed an 
audience with Louis in a few days' time. " Madam, 
fear you not," they concluded, " but be of good com- 
fort, and beware that you adventure not your person, 
nor my Lord Prince, by the sea, till you have other 



338 HENRY VI [1461-2 

word from us, unless that your person cannot be sure 
[secure] there as ye are, and that extreme necessity 
drive you thence ; and for God's sake the King's 
Highness be advised the same. For, as we be in- 
formed, the Earl of March ^ is into Wales by land, and 
hath sent his navy thither by sea ; and. Madam, think 
verily, we shall not sooner be delivered but that we will 
come straight to you, without death take us by the 
way, the which we trust he will not till we see the King 
and you peaceably again in your realm." ^ In the 
end the three Ambassadors were released with empty 
promises, and in March 1462 they returned to Scotland 
by way of Flanders. 

Conspiracy had been rife in England in the mean- 
time, and in February John, Earl of Oxford, with his 
son and three others, was arrested and executed on 
Tower Hill for receiving letters from Margaret. It was 
also rumoured about the same time that the Lancas- 
trians were meditating a threefold invasion, Somerset 
with one army from Scotland, a second army from 
Wales, and a third from Jersey and Guernsey. But 
Margaret, nothing daunted by the failure of her envoys, 
and finding her position in Scotland impossible, on 
2 April herself embarked for France, sailing from 
Kirkcudbright with four ships and journeying to 
Brittany. Upon landing there she was well received 
by the Duke, and proceeded to seek Louis XI at 
Bordeaux and finally at Cliinon. But that wily 
monarch was not anxious to embroil himself with 

1 Edward IV, whom they did not recognize as king, 

2 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 46, let. 413. 



1462] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 339 

Edward IV, and in order to wring from him any assist- 
ance Margaret was obliged to promise him the town of 
Calais. Unlike Berwick, however, Calais was not in 
her possession, and Louis had to take his chance of 
being able to capture it. On this rather doubtful 
security he advanced Margaret twenty thousand livres. 
Her old friend Pierre de Breze, whom Louis was quite 
willing to be rid of — and indeed released from prison 
for the purpose — joined her with about eight hundred 
men, and with that small help she was forced to be 
content. 

Immediately after Margaret's departure from Scot- 
land, Mary of Gueldres had received Warwick at 
Dumfries, with the Earl of Essex, Sir John Wenlock, 
and the Bishop of Durham as ambassadors from 
England. Two or three months later a second meeting 
was held at Carlisle, and a truce was made between the 
two countries until August. As a result of this the 
exiled Douglas fell out of favour at the English Court, 
" and as a sorwefull and a sore rebuked man lyth in the 
Abbey of Se5nit Albons." ^ 

The Lancastrians made various incursions into 
the North of England, but when Margaret returned 
Bamborough was the only stronghold in their posses- 
sion. The Queen had sailed from France with fifty- 
two ships, and a week before All-Hallows ^ landed 
in Northumberland. Alnwick was quickly reduced 
by famine and garrisoned by Lord Hungerford, with 
a son of Pierre de Breze and a French force. Bam- 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. Ill, let. 459. 
* i.e. about 25 Oct. 



340 HENRY VI [1462 

borough and Dunstanburgh were also garrisoned and 
left in the charge of Somerset, Pembroke and Sir 
Ralph Percy, who had recently joined the Queen. 
Margaret then embarked for Scotland to fetch Henry, 
but once more the weather fought against the Lan- 
castrians, for " there rosse suche a tempaste uppon 
hyr that she for soke hyr schippe, and a-shapyd with 
the bote of the schyppe. And the schyppe was 
drownyd with moche of hyr stuff e, and iij grete 
schippys moo." ^ Moreover four hundred Frenchmen, 
who had taken refuge on Holy Island, were made 
prisoners in the church there. Margaret and de Breze 
landed safely in their little boat at Berwick. 

Warwick hastened north to reduce the fortresses 
won by Margaret, and was closely followed by Edward, 
who left London on 3 November. The latter, however, 
was somewhat ignominiously detained at Durham by 
a " sykenesse of masyls," ^ and Warwick advanced 
alone to Warkworth, which he made his headquarters. 
Fauconberg, now Earl of Kent, with Lord Scales con- 
ducted the siege of Alnwick, Worcester and Sir Ralph 
Grey that of Dunstanburgh, while Montagu and Sir 
Robert Ogle beleaguered Bamborough. Warwick rode 
daily to the three castles to oversee the operations, 
while Norfolk, stationed at Newcastle, supplied him 
with victuals and ordnance. On Christmas Eve Dun- 
stanburgh and Bamborough were surrendered on the 
condition, made by Sir Ralph Percy, that he should 
receive the governorship of both, after which he and 

1 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 218. 

2 Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kingsford), 178. 



1463] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 341 

Somerset took an oath of allegiance to King Edward 
at Durham. Pembroke was allowed to retire to 
Scotland. Alnwick was still holding out when, on the 
eve of Epiphany — 6 January — news arrived that the 
Earl of Angus and Pierre de Breze were approaching 
with a Scottish force. Warwick, taken by surprise, 
drew off his forces, but the Lancastrians did not con- 
sider themselves strong enough to hold the fortress or 
to attack the Yorkists, and the defenders marched away 
with the relieving force, leaving Warwick to take 
possession. The expedition ended, Warwick, with 
Edward, who had now recovered from his attack of 
measles, returned to London, where the treacherous 
Somerset was taken into high favour by the King. 

But Margaret did not remain idle. Once more 
collecting a small force of Scots, French and English, 
she crossed the border in the spring of 1463, bringing 
Henry with her. Alnwick was betrayed to her by Sir 
Ralph Grey, who had been disgusted at not being made 
its governor by Warwick, while Bamborough was 
surrendered by Sir Ralph Percy, who now changed sides 
for the third time. Siege was laid to the castle of 
Norham, but when Montagu, followed by Warwick, 
again hastened north the Lancastrian army, apparently 
seized with a sudden panic, broke up and made for the 
border. After a last stand at Holybank Ford on the 
Tweed, Margaret, abandoning her horses and gear, 
fled with her son and de Breze to Bamborough, followed 
by Henry. One of the Scottish pipers, however, dis- 
dained to fly, being a " manly man that purposyd to 
mete with my Lorde of Warwycke . . . for he stode a-pon 



342 HENRY VI [1463 

an hylle with hys tabyr ^ and hys pype, taberyng and 
pyping as merely as any man myght, stondyng by hym 
selfe, tylle my lorde come unto hym he wold not lesse 
hys grownd ; and there he be-come my lordys man." ^ 

Henry reached Bamborough, where he was for the 
time safe, but Margaret at last seems to have lost hope. 
Leaving her husband, whom she was destined never 
to see again, she embarked with Prince Edward, Exeter 
and de Breze, and sailed with four balingers to Sluys, 
in Flanders. There she cast herself upon the mercy 
of the Duke of Burgundy, representing to him her state 
of destitution with many tears. Philip was not unkind 
to her, but he had no wish to offend his friend Edward 
IV, and he therefore merely gave her a sum of money 
for her expenses and sent her on to her father in 
Lorraine. Rene gave her the little castle of Mighel- 
en-Barrois, where she lived for the next seven years, 
doubtless attending to the education of her son Edward. 

Henry after a while returned to Scotland, probably 
feeling insecure in Northumberland, but he was not 
permitted to rest there for long. Every one seemed 
growing weary of his cause ; probably he did not press 
it himself with any great enthusiasm. In October 
1463 Louis XI signed a truce with Edward IV ; in the 
same year Mary of Gueldres died. The Lancastrian 
Earl of Angus was dead, and Bishop Kennedy, now an 
old man, made peace with Edward in December. Thus 
Henry was left without a secure refuge. At the 
beginning of January 1464 he was brought to Edin- 

^ Drum. 

* Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 220-1. 



1464] HENRY AND ]\IARGARET IN EXILE 343 

burgh, but seeing how coldly he was looked upon at 
James's Court, and feeling that he would be safer at 
a greater distance from the border, he appealed to 
Kennedy for hospitality. The good Bishop took him 
to his castle of St. Andrews, a somewhat grim strong- 
hold on the wild east coast, and there Henry remained 
until March. " He was well received there," wrote 
Kennedy, " according to my little power . . . and 
given money and other things necessary, with as good 
cheer as possible." ^ 

But in the spring of 1464 the Lancastrians determined 
on a final effort. 

About Christmas 1463, or early in 1464, " that fals 
Duke of Somersett," whom Edward had loaded with 
favours since his surrender in the North, but who was 
so hated by the people that he had been sent into 
Wales for safety, slipped quietly away and made for 
Northumberland to join the Lancastrians once more. 
His intentions, however, leaked out, and he was " lyke 
to have ben takyn be syde Dereham ^ in hys bedde," ' 
but escaped " in hys schyrt and barefote." Various 
insurrections broke out. Norfolk was sent to Wales to 
quiet " dyvers gentyllmen here whych wer consentyng 
and helpyng on to the Duke of Somersettys goyng." 
It was reported at the same time, 1 March, that the 
" comenys in Lancasher and Chescher wer up to the 
nombyr of a X°» (10,000) or more, but now they be 
downe agen ; and one or ij of hem was hedyd in 

^ Waurin, Anchiennes Cronicques, iii. 169-70. 

2 Durham. 

3 Hist. Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 223. 



344 HENRY VI [1464 

Chestyr as on Saterday last past." ^ These risings 
came to nothing, but when in March 1464 Henry left 
St. Andrews and came south to Bamborough, the North 
for the last time rallied to him, and Norham and 
Skipton-in-Craven opened their gates. Montagu, who 
was going north to negotiate with the Scots at New- 
castle, narrowly escaped destruction in an ambush 
laid by Somerset and Percy, but was warned in time. 
Gathering a force at Newcastle he marched towards 
Norham, and on 25 April encountered the Lancastrians 
at Hedgeley Moor, not far from Wooler, under Lords 
Roos and Hungerford, Sir Ralph Percy and Sir Ralph 
Grey. Percy was slain, and the rest took to flight, but, 
led by Somerset, they rallied again a few weeks later. 
On 15 May they encamped outside Hexham, on the 
Linhills or " Lyvels " by the Devils Water, ^ between 
the river and the wooded hills. There Montagu, issuing 
from Newcastle, fell upon them. Many fled and the 
remainder, after a stubborn fight, were overcome. 
Somerset, Roos, and Hungerford were taken and 
beheaded, with many more, a series of executions 
being held at Hexham, Newcastle, Middleham and 
York. Sir William Tailboys was taken in a coal pit, 
with a large sum of money which he was conveying to 
Henry. The Lancastrian strongholds were quickly 
reduced, only Bamborough making any stand, under 
Sir Ralph Grey, who knew he could not hope for mercy. 
To reduce the fortress Warwick brought up Edward's 
new artillery — " Newcastle " and " London," great 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 152, let. 486, 
- A tributary of the Tyne. 



1464-5] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 345 

guns of iron, " Dijon," a brass gun, and " Edward " 
and " Richard " the bombardels. These did their 
work so well that " the stones of the walls flew into 
the sea," ^ and the castle was taken by assault. Sir 
Ralph Grey was taken to Doncaster, his spurs struck 
off, and his coat-of-arms torn away, after which he was 
drawn away on a hurdle and beheaded. Resistance 
was at an end. 

Henry, who at the time of the battle of Hexham was 
at Bywell Castle, not many miles away, fled thence 
in such haste that he left behind him his crowned 
helmet, his sword and other personal possessions, and 
took refuge in the Lake District, which was still secretly 
loyal to him. There he wandered about in disguise, 
from Lancashire to Westmoreland, for another year, 
going from one loyal household to another, guarded by 
his faithful chamberlain, Sir Richard Tunstall of 
Thurland. At one time he was at Crackenthorp, near 
Appleby, for afterwards John Maychell, of Cracken- 
thorp, received a pardon for repeatedly entertaining 
Henry, " formerly de facto and not de iure King of 
England," at his house. ^ He was also in Furness 
Fells, between Coniston and Windermere ; and in 
West Yorkshire, at Bolton Hall, near Sawley. At that 
house are preserved a boot, glove and spoon said to 
have belonged to the unfortunate King; if authentic 
they show that Henry was the possessor of delicately 
small hands and feet, for the boot sole measures but 
eight inches, and the glove is in proportion. At 

^ Oman, Warwick the King-maker, 158. 
? Rymer's Foedera, xi. 575. 



346 HENRY VI [1465 

Bolton also there is a well named after him, because he 
is said to have had it enlarged for use as a cold bath. 
A few miles east lies Brace well, at that time owned by 
the Tempest family, and there also is a room in which 
the King is said to have slept. A little further down 
the river Ribble, on the very boundary line between 
Lancashire and Yorkshire, and not far from Clitheroe, 
is Waddington Hall, where, at the end of June 1465, 
Henry was entertained by another member of the 
family, Richard Tempest. But there misfortune 
overtook him. Sir John Tempest, of Bracewell, had 
married his daughter Alice to Thomas Talbot, eldest 
son of his neighbour, Sir Edward Talbot, of Bashall. 
But Thomas was no true man to King Henry, and 
agreed with his cousin, John Talbot, of Salesbury, near 
Blackburn, Sir James Harrington, of Brierley, near 
Barnsley, and a brother of Richard Tempest, to take 
the King captive on the first opportunity. Henry's 
presence was betrayed, about 29 June, by a " blacke 
monk of Abingtone," ^ named William Cantlow, and, 
armed with a commission from King Edward for the 
royal fugitive's capture, the treacherous Tempest rode 
with a band of men to Waddington Hall, his brother 
Richard's house, where Henry was sitting at dinner 
with his chamberlain. Sir Richard Tunstall, and others. 
Out of respect for his brother. Tempest left most of his 
men outside and entered with only a small number; 
but when he attempted to arrest Henry the faithful 
Tunstall sprang before his master, sword in hand, and 
defended him so strenuously that presently Tempest's 
^ Abingdon : Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 5. 



1465] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 347 

arm was broken. Then Tunstall, seeing that he could 
not in the end prevail against so many, took Henry by 
the hand, and fighting his way desperately through the 
men-at-arms, brought him out and fled to a wood not 
far off called Clitherwood.^ But behind them a hue- 
and-cry was raised within the hall and without, and 
the Talbots started in pursuit — Tempest doubtless 
being delayed by his broken arm. Without horses 
the fugitives could not hope to go far, and later in the 
same day Henry was captured, there in the wood 
" beside Bungerley Hyppingstons " ^ — the stepping- 
stones over the Ribble. Exactly what part was taken 
in the affair by Sir James Harrington is not clear, but 
a month later he was granted the castle, manor and 
lordship of Thurland, formerly belonging to Sir Richard 
Tunstall, on account of his " great and laborious 
diligence in the capture and detention of our great 
traitor, rebel and enemy Henry, formerly called 
Henry VI." ^ Tunstall himself escaped and fled to 
Harlech, but of Henry's other companions his chap- 
lains, Dr. By don and Dr. Manning — formerly Dean of 
Windsor and secretary to the Queen — and a young 
squire named Ellerton were taken. The unhappy King 
was taken towards London in custody, and at Islington 
was met by Warwick, who came out to arrest him for- 
mally. With unnecessary indignity his feet were bound 
to the stirrups and his spurs removed, and thus he was 
brought in at Newgate and led through Cheapside and 

^ J. de Waurin, Anchiennes Cronicques, v. 344-5. 
2 Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 5. 
8 Rymer's Foedera, xi. 648. 



348 HENRY VI [1465 

Cornhill to the Tower, on 24 July. There he was 
guarded by two squires, two yeomen of the Crown 
and their men, " and every manne was suffred to come 
and speke withe hym, by Hcence of the kepers." ^ He 
was also allowed a chaplain, and there is no reason to 
believe that he was ill-treated, although he does not 
seem to have been too well looked after. Doubtless 
captivity was not as irksome to him as it would have 
been to a man of more energetic temperament. 

The Lancastrian cause now seemed irretrievably 
lost ; but already a change had begun in the political 
situation which, during the next five years, while 
Henry was languishing in the Tower and Margaret was 
living in obscurity with her son in Lorraine, was 
destined to reach such dimensions that for a brief 
moment Henry VI was to find himself once more on 
the troubled throne of England. This change was the 
gradual growth of mistrust and estrangement between 
Edward IV and the all-powerful King-maker. 

Louis XI of France for the last few years had been 
friendly to the Lancastrians in the hope of gaining 
fulfilment of Margaret's promise to hand over the 
much-coveted Calais ; Edward and Warwick therefore 
had fostered their friendship with Burgundy. But 
soon the astute Louis, seeing the hopeless condition 
of the Lancastrian cause, changed his views, and in 
1464 concluded a truce with Edward. Warwick was 
very much in favour of a permanent peace with 
France in order to secure that the Lancastrians should 
not obtain assistance from that quarter, and he there- 
^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 5. 



1465] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 349 

fore warmly supported the proposal that Edward IV, 
now a tall and handsome young man of twenty-four, 
should marry Bona of Savoy, sister of the French 
Queen. But Edward, when obliged to give a definite 
answer in the matter, revealed the totally unexpected 
fact that he was already married to Elizabeth Grey, 
or Woodville, widow of Sir John Grey, the Lancastrian 
Captain who died of his wounds after the second battle 
of St. Albans. The lady's father was Lord Rivers, 
formerly Sir Richard Woodville, who had married 
Jacquette of Luxemburg, the widow of John, Duke 
of Bedford. Warwick was much incensed at the news, 
for he had committed himself rather deeply with Louis 
on the subject of the French Princess, and every one 
was astounded at what they considered a most un- 
worthy marriage for the King. The Earl was tempor- 
arily pacified, but from that moment the breach really 
began. The spirited young King evidently chafed 
against his reliance on the King-maker, and now, with 
considerable rashness and ingratitude, began to give 
him causes of offence. 

The Woodvilles, his queen's family, were almost as 
numerous as the Nevilles, and Edward proceeded to 
arrange a series of brilliant matches for them, to the 
dissatisfaction of every one except those concerned. 
Between 1464 and 1466 seven of EHzabeth's relatives 
were wedded to members of the peerage, and Warwick 
could not but perceive that the King was endeavouring 
to raise up a family group which would be able to set 
the Nevilles at defiance. 

During 1465 Warwick was absent, occupied with 



350 HENRY VI L1466-7 

missions to France and Burgundy, but in 1466 the 
breach began to widen. Lord Rivers, the Queen's 
father, was created an earl and was made Treasurer 
in the place of Lord Mount joy, Warwick's uncle by 
marriage.^ Also the Queen annexed the young heiress 
of Exeter, who was betrothed to Warwick's nephew, 
George of Northumberland,^ and married her to her 
own eldest son by her first husband ; and further, the 
King turned a deaf ear to Warwick's proposal for a 
marriage between his eldest daughter Isabel, who, 
since he had no sons, would inherit half of his immense 
possessions, and George of Clarence, the King's brother. 
After these small vexations, matters became really 
serious in the following year. The King's French 
marriage being frustrated, Warwick and his party 
wished to conclude a definite alliance with Louis XI. 
Edward, however, leaned rather to a friendship with 
Burgundy, for Charles of Charolais, son and heir of 
Duke Philip, desired to marry the King's sister Mar- 
garet. Edward pretended to hesitate, and in May 1467 
sent Warwick over to France to negotiate a treaty of 
peace. But no sooner had he gone than Edward made 
final arrangements for the marriage of his sister with 
Charles, who in June became Duke of Burgundy, and 
also dismissed the Chancellor, George Neville, now 
Archbishop of York, and put Stillington, Bishop of 
Bath and Wells, in his place. At the end of June 
Warwick returned with the French Ambassadors, but 

^ He had married the Dowager Duchess of Buckingham. 
2 Son of Montagu, who had been made Earl of Northumberland 
in 1464. 



1467-8] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 351 

Edward received them coldly and could not be in- 
duced to hold any discussion with them, so that they 
returned to France without anything being accom- 
plished. Warwick, enraged at the false position in 
which he had been placed, withdrew to his castle of 
Middleham and remained there in retirement for some 
time. Whispers of treason began to be instilled into 
the King's ears against him, and the country, which 
hated the new favourites, began to grow restless ; but 
for a year longer Warwick remained outwardly loyal. 

In 1468 Edward IV was seized with the idea of 
renewing the claim of his ancestors to the French 
crown, and proclaimed his intentions at the Parlia- 
ment held in May of that year. But the effect of this 
move was not at all what he had anticipated. Louis XI 
promptly remembered Margaret, and once more 
recalled the Lancastrians to favour. Lancastrian 
conspiracies broke out everywhere. Jasper Tudor, 
who had taken refuge in Ireland, landed in Wales and 
" roode ovyr the contraye and helde many cessyons 
and cysys ^ in Kyng Harry's name." ^ He burnt 
Denbigh, but was finally put to flight by Lord Herbert ; 
and Harlech Castle, which had held out all this 
time for Lancaster, at last fell. Among the captives 
made was Henry's brave chamberlain. Sir Richard 
Tunstall, who was sent to the Tower. Lord Herbert 
received the Earldom of Pembroke in place of Jasper 
Tudor, who was held to have forfeited it. Wales was 
subdued, but plots and executions followed all over 

^ Assizes. 

^ Hist Coll. of a Citizen of London (ed. Gairdner), 237. 



352 HENRY VI [1469 

England, and Edward's attention was far too much 
occupied for him to carry out his project of invading 
France. 

Warwick, having nursed his grievances in silence 
for some time, began to prepare an insurrection on his 
own account not in favour of the Lancastrians, but 
on his old grounds of good government and aboUtion 
of favourites not uninfluenced by motives of personal 
ambition. Besides his family connection, he had with 
him the King's brother George of Clarence, who was 
set upon marrying Warwick's daughter in defiance 
of Edward's prohibition. The chief Nevilles now 
remaining were Henry Neville, son of Lord Latimer ; 
Thomas Neville, known as the Bastard of Fauconberg ; 
Sir John Conyers, son-in-law of Fauconberg, who 
had died some years before ; Sir John Sutton, son-in- 
law of Latimer; and Lord Fitz-Hugh, Warwick's 
brother-in-law. His brother George, Archbishop of 
York, also held by him, but Montagu at this time 
appears to have been too cautious to break openly with 
Edward. 

In April 1469 Warwick, with his wife and daughters, 
went over to Calais. Two months later two insurrec- 
tions broke out in England : the first in Yorkshire, 
directly instigated by Warwick, under the leadership 
of " Robin of Redesdale," whose real name, according 
to Warkworth, was Sir William Conyers, but who, 
according to other writers, was Sir John Conyers 
himself. To his standard flocked the Nevilles of the 
North ; the second rising was Lancastrian, led by one 
Robert Hilyard, who called himself " Robin of Holder- 



1469] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 353 

ness," and was supported by the Percies. Montagu, 
who was dispatched against them by Edward, defeated 
the men of Holderness and executed their leader, but 
did nothing against his own family's assemblage. 
Edward himself, therefore, went north in person to 
deal with it, as Warwick had intended. Clarence 
meanwhile had joined the Earl at Calais, accompanied 
by the Archbishop of York, and there his marriage 
with Isabel Neville was celebrated. This done, he 
and the King -maker together returned to England on 
12 July — always in the cause of good government — 
and rousing the South, marched in pursuit of Edward, 
who was at Nottingham. Before they had embarked 
Edward had grown suspicious of their movements, 
and on 9 July he dispatched letters from Nottingham 
to the three conspirators. " Brodir ... we truste 
ye wole dispose you accordyng to our pleser and com- 
mandement," he wrote to Clarence, " and ye shal be 
to us right welcome." To Warwick, " Cosyn, we grete 
you well . . . and we ne trust that ye shulde be of 
any such disposicion towards us, as the rumour here 
renneth, consederyng the trust and affeccion we bere 
in yow. . . . And cosyn, ne tliynk but ye shal be to 
us welcome." The Archbishop he reminded of his 
promise " to come to us as sone as ye goodely may." ^ 
These communications, however, probably never 
reached them, and the King soon became aware of his 
danger. When Lord Mount] oy at a Council held at 
Nottingham urged him for his own safety to dismiss 
the Woodvilles, he did so, and moved south to meet the 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 360, let. 61.5. 
AA 



354 HENRY VI [14G9 

reinforcements which Herbert was bringing from 
Wales. The Northern rebels, under Conyers and 
Latimer, also hurried south and interposed themselves 
between Edward and the Welsh force, both of whom 
were converging on Daventry. Warwick also was 
approaching. Herbert and the Nevilles met at Edgcott, 
six miles north of Banbury, on 26 July. Henry of 
Latimer was killed, but Herbert was taken, and he and 
his brother were beheaded by the rebels at Northamp- 
ton. Learning of this reverse and of Warwick's 
proximity, the royal army dispersed, and Edward 
himself fled to Olney, in Buckinghamshire. There he 
was surprised and taken at midnight by Archbishop 
Neville and delivered to Warwick's keeping. Warwick 
slew all the Woodvilles he could lay hands on, but the 
remainder having fled, and the field being clear, he 
released Edward after four or five weeks of detention, 
and attempted nothing further against him for that 
time. In October the King returned to London in 
outward harmony with the Earl; "the King himself," 
said John Paston, " hath good language of the Lords 
of Clarence, of Warwick, and of my Lords of York 
and Oxford, saying they be his best friends ; but his 
household men have other language, so that what 
shall hastily fall I cannot say." ^ Warwick's restora- 
tion to power was celebrated by the betrothal of the 
King's daughter Elizabeth to George Neville, the 
Earl's nephew and nearest male heir,^ who was at the 

1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 390, let. 632. 

2 Eldest son of Montagu. The marriage was apparently never 
consummated. 



1470] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 355 

same time created Duke of Bedford. But Edward 
only concealed his animosity until a favourable oppor- 
tunity. 

In March 1470 an insurrection broke out in Lincoln- 
shire led by Sir Robert Welles, son of Lord Willoughby, 
whereupon the King raised a large force and marched 
thither, calling upon Warwick and Clarence to follow 
him. The rising was quickly crushed and Welles 
beheaded at Doncaster; but then Edward's real 
intentions appeared. Giving out that Welles had 
implicated Warwick and Clarence in his dying con- 
fession, he marched upon the two Lords at Chester- 
field, where they had come to join him with their levies. 
Taken completely by surprise, they fled south-west — 
the Earl picldng up his family and goods at Warwick — 
and, embarking at Dartmouth, sailed for Calais. There 
for the first time they were refused entry, and, landing 
at Honfleur, they repaired to the Court of Louis XI. 
That monarch was seized with the extraordinary idea 
of effecting a reconciliation, for his own ends, between 
Warwick and Queen Margaret, and he therefore 
arranged a meeting between them at Angers. It 
seemed impossible that a concord could be brought 
about between two such enemies : Margaret had to 
forget that Warwick had slandered her, driven her 
out of England, deprived her husband of his throne 
and taken him to prison; Warwick had to overlook 
the attempts on his own hfe and the cruel death of his 
father and other relatives ; but in the end Louis pre- 
vailed by sheer pertinacity, and the strange alliance 
was sealed by the marriage of Warwick's second 



356 HENRY VI [1470 

daughter, Anne, with Prince Edward, now a youth of 
seventeen. The weak point of the arrangement was 
that it secretly alienated Clarence, who saw his pros- 
pects of succeeding his brother on the throne of England 
slipping from him. From that moment he began 
privately to reinstate himself with King Edward. 

Having once declared for Lancaster, Warwick lost 
no time. Directions were sent to Lord Fitz-Hugh in 
Yorkshire, and at the beginning of August 1470 a rising 
obediently broke out, headed by the Nevilles, and 
intended to decoy Edward thither. " Ther be many 
ffolkes uppe in the Northe," wrote John Paston on 
5 August, " soo that Percy is not able to recyst them ; 
and soo the Kynge hathe sente ffor hys ffeeodmen to 
koom to hym, for he woU goo to putt them downe. 
And some seye that the Kynge sholde come ageyn to 
London, and that in haste, and as it is sayde Cortenayes 
be londyd in Devenschyr, and ther rewle. Item, that 
the Lordes Clarance and Warwyk woll assaye to londe 
in Irylonde evyrye daye, as ffolkes ffeer." ^ 

Warwick, provided by Louis with money and ships, 
sailed from Honfleur, and landed in Devonshire on 
13 September accompanied by Clarence, the Bastard of 
Fauconberg, Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Oxford and 
other Lancastrians. He proclaimed Henry VI as he 
went, and such was the power of his name that the 
West Country rose to welcome him. He marched 
towards London without resistance, but hearing that 
Edward was at Nottingham he turned in that direction. 
Again Edward's army began to melt away, and Mon- 
1 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 406, let. 648. 



1470] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 357 

tagu, who had gathered a large force by the King's 
orders at Pontefract, now declared for his brother and 
Henry VI, and marched upon Edward, who narrowly 
escaped capture. Fleeing with Hastings, Say and a 
few others, he reached Lynn, and embarking there 
on Michaelmas Day, sailed to Holland, without money 
or baggage, to take refuge with Burgundy. 

In London there was considerable turmoil. Bands 
of Kentish men harried the suburbs to the south and 
east, establishing themselves at Ratcliff, St. Katherine's 
and Southwark, and expelling the Flemings from 
" Blanchapleton." The Bishop of Ely and other 
Bishops took refuge at St. Martin's ; Queen Elizabeth 
Woodville, with her mother the ex-Duchess of Bedford, 
and her little daughters stole out of the Tower by night 
and took sanctuary at Westminster, where a month 
later her first son, afterwards the unfortunate Edward V, 
was born. 

On 3 October ^ Henry's old friend William Wayne- 
flete. Bishop of Winchester, went with the Mayor 
to the Tower to release the King, " and there toke 
hyme from his kepers, whiche was noyt worschipfuUy 
arayed as a prince, and noyt so clenly kepte as schuld 
seme suche a Prynce," ^ and having suitably clothed 
him, established him in the royal apartments in the 
Tower. On 6 October Warwick entered London in 
triumph, accompanied by Clarence, who was still 

^ Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, i. 312, says that this took 
place on 1 October. Also that the Mayor, who was a Yorkist, 
prudently took to his bed. 

^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. HalUwell), 11. 



358 HENRY VI [1470 

apparently on his side. Henry was instated at the 
Bishop's Palace by St. Paul's ; " and so he was restorede 
to the crowne ageyne, and wrott in all his lettres, 
wryttes and other recordes the yere of his regne, ' Anno 
regni Regis Henrici Sexti quadragesimo nono, et re- 
adempcionis sue regie potestatis primo.' Whereof 
alle his goode lovers were fuUe gladde, and the more 
parte of peple." ^ 

But ten years of troubled wandering and imprison- 
ment had dealt hardly with Henry, and it seems 
that his faculties had to some extent become per- 
manently impaired. He cannot have been hopelessly 
imbecile, as some writers infer, or Warwick would not 
have resorted to public processions to awaken loyalty, 
and the people would not have been roused to applause ; 
but he was " as a man amazyd and utterly dullyd 
with trubbles and adversitie." ^ On 13 October the 
poor dazed King was taken through the city in royal 
apparel, accompanied by the Mayor, two Sheriffs, and 
the whole Council, " the people on the right hand and 
on the left hand reioysyn and crying God save the 
Kynge," ^ and was enthroned in state at St. Paul's, 
Warwick bearing his train and Oxford his sword. 
Thus he resumed his unhappy reign for six brief and 
troubled months. 

A Parliament was called on 26 November, but little 
is known as to what measures it took, for the record 
of its session was expunged from the Rolls upon the 

^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 11. 

2 Three books ofPolydore VergiVs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), 143. 

" Hall's Chronicle, 285. 




HEXRV VI 

King's College, Cambridge 



Photo, ]. Palmer Clarke 



1470-1] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 359 

return of Edward IV. It appears that Edward was 
declared a traitor, and that the crown was entailed 
upon Henry's son Edward, and in default of issue on the 
Duke of Clarence — clearly an arrangement of policy. 
Archbishop Neville was restored to the office of 
Chancellor, Clarence became Lieutenant of Ireland, 
Jasper Tudor Lieutenant in Wales, and the Earl of 
Oxford Constable of England. In discharge of that 
office the last named executed Tiptoft, the " butcher 
Earl " of Worcester, who was found at the top of a 
high tree in a forest in Huntingdonshire. Such was 
the new Government, a blend of old Lancastrians and 
the followers of Warwick. The " common people," 
it is said, " dyd stand stiflye of King Henry his syde." ^ 

Margaret, probably through a lingering distrust of 
Warwick, did not hasten to join him and her restored 
husband in England. All the winter she remained 
in Paris, and when at last, about March 1471, she came 
to the coast ready to embark, the wind blew steadily 
against her, and for weeks her passage was delayed. 
When at last she accomplished it she was too late. 

The winter passed in England without disturbance, 
but abroad Edward was not idle. Burgundy was not 
enthusiastic in his support, but gave him some money, 
and in the spring of 1471 Edward determined to try his 
fortune. On 2 March he embarked at Flushing with 
about fifteen hundred men, but being delayed for nine 
days by contrary winds he did not get under way until 
the 11th. He attempted to land in Norfolk, near 
Cromer, but Oxford was keeping guard there, and the 
^ Hardyng's Chronicle, 451. 



SCO HENRY VI [1471 

people were too hostile, so that he was obliged to put 
to sea again. Making for the mouth of the Humber, 
his ships were scattered by a storm, but Edward 
himself was driven ashore on 15 March at Raven- 
spur 1 with about five hundred men. He was quickly 
joined by his brother, Richard of Gloucester, who had 
come to land with another three hundred men about 
four miles away. The men of the North did not feel 
much enthusiasm for Edward and his little band, and 
the people of Holderness rose against him, led by a 
priest named Sir John Westerdale. Edward, however, 
approached York, and upon his declaring for King 
Henry, mounting the ostrich -feather badge of Prince 
Edward, and taking an oath that he had no designs 
on the crown and was come merely to recover his own 
Dukedom of York, he was permitted to enter the city. 
This astonishing perjury gained him considerable 
support, and Tadcaster, Wakefield, Sandal and other 
places opened their gates to him. Montagu was in the 
North with an army, but through timidity or bad 
generalship allowed Edward to slip past him without 
molestation. According to one chronicler ^ he was at 
Leicester, and did not act because the treacherous 
Clarence had sent him word not to fight until he came 
to join him. Possibly this was the reason for Mon- 
tagu's inaction, but he was apparently at Pontefract,^ 
and certainly not at Leicester. 

Warwick, hearing of Edward's advance, hastened to 

^ This little place, where BoUngbroke also landed, has been 
washed away by the encroachment of the sea. 
^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 14. 
3 Hist, of the Arrivall of Ed. IV (ed. J. Bruce), 6. 



1471] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 361 

Coventry, that ever-loyal Lancastrian stronghold, and 
waited for the levies from the South and East to join 
him. Edward came south to Nottingham, where he 
was joined by reinforcements from the Eastern Counties, 
and Warwick, who had pushed forward to Leicester, 
retired again to Coventry, re-entering the town on 
28 March. On the same day Edward reached Leicester. 
Montagu was pursuing Edward from the North, and 
Oxford, with the men of East Anglia whom lie had 
collected at Lynn, was near Newark. To secure his 
flank Edward turned east towards Oxford's band, 
whereupon the latter fell back to Stamford, and Ed- 
ward then continued his march towards Coventry. 
Warwick, however, did not feel himself strong enough 
to come out and give battle, and the Yorkists passed 
on. A serious blow to Warwick followed, for at Ban- 
bury on 3 April Edward was joined by his treacherous 
brother Clarence, who now deserted his father-in-law 
and went over to the other side with seven thousand 
men. Rumours flew about the land. " Here in this 
cuntre be many tales," wrote Gresham to Paston, " and 
non accoith with other. It is tolde me . . . that my 
Lord of Clarence is goon to his brother, late Kyng ; in 
so moche that his men have the Gorget ^ on ther 
brests and the Rose ^ over it. And it is seid that the 
Lord Howard hath proclaimed Kyng Edward Kyng 
of Inglong in Suffolk." ^ 

Edward, thus strengthened, threw off all pretence, 
and proclaiming himself King once more, marched 

^ The Lancastrian SS. collar. ^ The white rose of York. 

^ Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii. 422, let. 665. 



362 HENRY VI [U7l 

towards London, Montagu having by this time joined 
Warwick at Coventry. From Northampton Edward 
sent messages to London announcing his coming, 
whereupon Archbishop Neville called together the 
Lancastrians, and on 10 April " to the intent to move 
the people's hearts " ^ towards King Henry, took him 
on a progress through the city, from St. Paul's, through 
Cheapside and Walbrook, and back to the Bishop's 
Palace, where he was lodged. This demonstration, 
however, was not successful in arousing loyalty, but 
" as much pleased the ci'tezens as a fier paynted on 
the wall warmed the olde woman," ^ for Henry did 
not cut a gallant figure as a king, and the fickle Lon- 
doners were already returning to their allegiance to 
the House of York. When the Archbishop " desirede 
the peple to be trew unto hym [Henry] . . . every 
manne seide thei wulde," but nevertheless, on the 
following day, " Urswyke, recordere of Londone, and 
diverse aldermen, suche that hade reule of the cyte, 
commaundede alle the peple that were in harnes, 
kepynge the cite and Kynge Herry, every man to goo 
home to dynere ; and in dyner tyme Kynge Edwarde 
was late in." ^ Thus Edward entered London on 
Maundy Thursday without opposition, for the remain- 
ing Lancastrians had gone south to meet Queen 
Margaret. He rode to St. Paul's and afterwards to 
the Bishop's Palace, where he found his unfortunate 
rival almost alone, deserted by his followers and left 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, 660. 

2 Hall's Chronicle, 294. 

^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 15. 



1471] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 363 

" as a sacrifice to be offered." ^ Henry was replaced 
in the Tower once more, together with the Archbishop 
of York, who, however, was subsequently released, 
and Edward fetched his wife and family, with his new- 
born son, from Westminster. But he had no time to 
waste, for Warwick was following hard upon his heels. 

The Yorkists were quickly joined by Bourchier, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, his brothers the Earl of 
Essex and Lord Berners, and others, with men from the 
East, and pausing only for Good Friday, Edward set 
out from London on Easter Eve, taking with him the 
unhappy Henry in order to discourage the other side. 

Warwick on the same day reached the neighbourhood 
of Barnet, and encamped on the heath above the town, 
near Monken Hadley. The Yorkists approached at 
nightfall, and in the gathering dark Edward's army 
marched through the town of Barnet and up the hill 
in deep silence, knowing that Warwick was near, and, 
indeed, in the blackness of the night encamped much 
nearer to his lines than they intended. This, however, 
turned out well for them, for Warwick, hearing the 
tramping of many feet, kept up a heavy artillery fire 
along his front all night, which, owing to their un- 
expected proximity, went over the heads of the 
Yorkists. " Eche of them loosede gonnes at othere 
aUe the nyght " ; but the coming of the dawn helped 
them little, for " bycause of the great myste that was 
which wolde not suffre no man to see but a litle from 
hym," 2 they had but a vague idea as to the general 

1 Three books ofPolydore VergiVs Eng. Hist. (ed. Sir H. Ellis), Ua 

2 Hist, of the Arrivall of Ed. IV (ed. J. Bruce), 19 



364 HENRY VI [1471 

position, and did not know that the armies overlapped 
each other at either end. Nevertheless, in the dimness 
Edward ordered the attack, and from four in the 
morning till ten on that fateful Easter Day they fought 
blindly and desperately, ignorant of the tide of battle 
and in wild confusion. 

" For friend and foe were shadows in the mist, 
And friend slew friend not knowing whom he slew. 
. . . And in the mist 
Was many a noble deed, many a base, 
And chance and craft, and strength in single fights ; 
And ever and anon with host to host 
Shocks, and the splintermg spear, the hard mail hewn. 
Shield-breakings, and the clash of brands, the crash 
Of battle-axes on shatter'd helms, and shrieks 
After the Christ, of those who falling down 
Look'd up for heaven and only saw the mist." 

Each army was victorious on the wing where it out- 
flanked the other, but the rest of the field was quite 
ignorant of it. Warwick's right wing, led by the Earl 
of Oxford, put to flight Edward's left, but presently a 
fatal confusion was caused in the Earl's ranks because 
the blazing star worn by Oxford's men was mistaken 
by their comrades for Edward's badge of the rising sun 
— the mist being so thick " that a manne myghte not 
profytely juge one thynge from anothere " ^ ; hence, 
when they returned from pursuing Edward's left wing, 
Warwick's men attacked them, whereupon they fled 
with cries of treason which unnerved the whole line. 
In the centre Edward did great prowess, and his im- 
petuous assault, combined with this accident, won the 

^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. HalUwell), 16. 



1471] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 365 

day. Montagu was slain, Oxford had fled, and War- 
wick himself leapt to horse and prepared to fly, but was 
overtaken and killed in the wood — probably Wrotham 
Park — beside the battle-field. Thus perished, at the 
age of forty-three, the great King-maker, statesman 
and soldier, for twenty years the most powerful man 
in England, and the last of the great mediaeval barons 
whose might overshadowed that of the throne. His 
body, with that of his brother Montagu, was publicly 
displayed at St. Paul's for several days in order that 
England might have no doubts on the subject of his 
death. Afterwards they were interred by their re- 
maining brother, the Archbishop, at Bisham Abbey. 

Henry, who had been present at this phantom battle, 
was brought back to London the same afternoon, and, 
riding through the city in a long gown of blue velvet, 
re-entered the Tower, which he never left again. 

Strangely enough, on Easter Eve the wind at last 
enabled Margaret to leave Honfleur, and on Easter 
Sunday, the very day of the battle of Barnet, she 
landed at Weymouth, little knowing that her cause was 
already lost. The Countess of Warwick landed the 
same day at Portsmouth, but, receiving the dire news 
of her son's defeat and death, she retired to Beaulieu 
Abbey instead of joining Margaret. The latter was 
not long in hearing of the disaster, and took refuge in 
Cerne Abbey near by, but in spite of this blow her 
spirit was still unbroken. There she was joined by 
Somerset and Devon with the remnant of the Lan- 
castrian army, and together they set out to rouse the 
West, hoping to effect a junction with Jasper Tudor's 



366 HENRY VI [1471 

army in Wales. Exeter, Taunton, Glastonbury and 
Bath were visited with good results, and fore-riders 
were sent towards Wells and Oxfordshire. But 
Edward again had lost no time and was already ap- 
proaching when Margaret turned west to Bristol. 
Leaving London on 19 April, and mustering his army 
at Windsor, Edward had marched rapidly west by way 
of Cirencester and Malmesbury, having a slight skirmish 
with the Lancastrians at Sodbury. Margaret pressed 
on towards Wales, but the Yorkist town of Gloucester 
refused to admit her, and her exhausted army was 
obliged to tramp on to Tewkesbury, " xxxvj longe 
myles in a fowle contrye." ^ Edward, marching 
through the Cots wolds to Cheltenham, came up mth 
her at Tewkesbury on 4 May. The Lancastrian 
position was good, for the army was drawn up to the 
south, with the town behind them, and " evell lanes, 
depe dikes and many hedges " in front ; "a ryght evill 
place to approche as cowlde well have been devysed." ^ 
But the day was lost by the impetuosity of Somerset 
and the treachery of Wenlock. Galled by the fire of 
Edward's superior artillery, Somerset made his way 
through the lanes, and, attacking the Yorkist army on 
the flank, suffered a repulse. Following up his advan- 
tage, Edward fell upon the main body of the Lancas- 
trians and put them to rout. Many were slain in the 
meadow beside the town, which still retains the sinister 
name of the " Bloody Meadow," and others were 
drowned in the mill-stream. Wenlock, who should 
have supported Somerset, remained basely inactive, 
1 Hist, of the Arrivall of Ed. IV (ed. J. Bruce), 27. ^ /fc^-^,^ 29. 



1471] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 367 

but the Duke, coming upon him in Tewkesbury market- 
place, fell upon him in a burst of despairing fury and 
killed him, whereupon his men fled. Margaret was 
carried off by her attendants, and concealed in "a 
powre religiows place " near by. Prince Edward, it 
seems clear, was slain on the field " fleeing to the town- 
wards " ^ ; he " cryede for socoure to his brother-in- 
lawe the Duke of Clarence," ^ who, however, brought 
him no help. Such is the evidence of contemporary 
writers as to his death ; the story of his capture and 
subsequent murder in the presence of Edward IV is 
a later invention. The Earls of Devon and Dorset, 
on the Queen's side, were also slain in the battle, 
and Somerset was taken and afterwards beheaded. 
Edward's victory was complete, and to celebrate his 
triumph he made forty-three knights upon the field. 
Only Margaret had escaped him, but a few days later 
her hiding-place was discovered, and, together with her 
daughter-in-law, Anne Neville, she was brought to 
Edward at Coventry on 11 May. Thence she was 
taken to London in his victorious train, and for four 
years remained a prisoner in his hands. At length, 
in November 1475, she was ransomed by Louis XI for 
50,000 crowns at the urging of her father, for which 
benefit she signed away her claim to Anjou, Provence 
and Lorraine. She ended her days in France in 1482. 
A last flicker of resistance remained for Edward to 
quell in the East. The Bastard of Fauconberg, who had 
been hovering with a fleet in the Straits, landed about 

1 Hist, of the Arrivall of Ed. IV (ed. J. Bruce), 30, 31. 

2 Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliweil), 18. 



368 HENRY VI [1471 

5 May, and, rousing the restless county of Kent, 
marched towards London in the cause of King Henry, 
arriving there on 8 May. He demanded entrance to 
the city in order to release Henry from the Tower, 
but Lord Scales, supported by the Mayor, refused to 
admit him, " for thei had understondynge that Prince 
Edwarde was dede and alle his hoste discomfytede." ^ 
Fauconberg thereupon, on 12 May, " loosede his gonnes 
into the citee," and burnt Aldgate and London Bridge ; 
but this action did harm to his cause, for it infuriated 
the citizens of London, who otherwise, Warkworth 
hints, would have let him in in spite of their leaders. 
Finally, seeing that he could effect nothing, he drew 
off and retired into Kent, where he was afterwards 
taken and executed by Edward. 

On 21 May 1461 Edward IV returned to London, 
and that same night Henry VI, at the age of fifty, 
ended his troubled life. His death for long remained 
a mystery. It was known that the Duke of Gloucester 
(afterwards Richard III) went that evening to the 
Tower to announce to the unhappy Henry the loss of 
his cause, the capture of his wife and the death of his 
only son, and we can well believe that he did not do it 
too gently. According to the official Yorkist account, 
poor Henry " toke it to so great dispite, ire and indigna- 
tion, that of pure displeasure and melancoly he dyed." ^ 
The populace was expected to believe that the shock 
of this terrible news would be enough to snap the 

^ Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 19. 
2 Hist, of the Arrivall of Ed. IV (ed. J. Bruce), 38; see also 
J. de Waurin, Anchiennes Cronicques, v. 675. 



1471J HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 369 

unfortunate monarch's weak thread of hfe, and taking 
for granted that he was sufficiently in possession of his 
faculties fully to realize its purport, which was doubtful. 
Even so his death would have occurred at a suspiciously 
convenient moment for Edward, for with Henry re- 
moved there was no one remaining around whom the 
Lancastrians could rally. However, the general verdict 
of the time, and what now seems proved to have been 
the real truth, was that the poor unnecessary king was 
quietly put out of the way. Most chroniclers agree 
that he was slain either by Richard of Gloucester 
himself, or in that Duke's presence. Thus the 
"common fame went." ^ The examination made in 
November 1910 of the remains which evidence com- 
bines to prove are those of Henry VI, revealed 
the ominous fact that part of the hair remaining on 
the skull appeared much darker than the rest, and 
was apparently matted with blood. ^ According to 
Warkworth's Chronicle, " the same nyghte that Kynge 
Edwarde came to London, Kynge Herry beynge in 
warde in presone in the Toure of Londone, was putt 
to dethe, the xxj day of Maij, on a tywesday nyght, 
betwyx xj and xij of the cloke, beynge thenne at the 
Toure the Duke of Gloucetre brothere to Kynge 
Edwarde, and many other ; and one the morwe he was 
chestyde and brought to Paulys, and his face was 
opyne that every manne myghte see hyme." ^ Another 

^ Fabyan's Chronicle, 662; Chronicles of London (ed. C. L. Kings- 
ford), 185. 

^ Archceologia, Ser. II. vol. 62, pt. ii. p. 533. 
3 Warkworth's Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 21. 
BB 



370 HENRY VI [1471 

adds that there were " abowte the beer mure glevys ^ 
and stavys than torches," ^ and several chroniclers 
record with horror that " in hys lyinge he bledde one 
the pament ther ; and afterward at the Blake Fryers 
was broughte, and ther he blede newe and fresche " ^ — 
a sure sign to the superstitious of that day that he was 
murdered. 

Finally the body was taken up the river in a boat to 
Chertsey Abbey, and was there " honorably enteryd." * 
But thirteen years later Richard of Gloucester, then 
reigning as Richard III, in the hope of regaining the 
popularity so fast slipping from him, took the remains 
of Henry VI from Chertsey, and reinterred them with 
due honour in the Chapel of St. George at Windsor, 
on 12 August, 1484. By this time the unhappy King 
had come to be revered as a saint, and it was even said 
that miracles were worked at his tomb. The site of 
his burial was said to have been immediately under 
the second arch of the south aisle, out of which the 
south door of the choir opens, and there accordingly 
the investigations of 4 November 1910 were carried 
out. The bones of the king, together with the remains 
of their wrappings, were found enclosed in a wooden 
chest, 3 ft. 3| in. long by 10 in. wide, and 9 in. deep, 
within a leaden casket. The bones were declared 
upon examination to be those of a fairly strong man, 
at least 5 ft. 9 in. in height, possibly an inch taller. The 

^ Swords. 

* Chronicles of London (ed. C. L Kingsford), 185. 

3 WarkAvorth'a Chronicle (ed. Halliwell), 21 ; Habington, Historie 
of Ed. IV, 105. 

* Hist, of the Arrivall of Ed. IV (cd. J. Bruce), 38. 



1471] HENRY AND MARGARET IN EXILE 371 

skull was thin and light, well formed, but small in 
proportion to the stature of the frame. Some of the 
bones, including those of the right arm, were missing, 
which points to the body having been buried in earth 
(at Chertsey), and later exhumed and dismembered. 
The remains, after examination, were wrapped in 
white silk and replaced in a new oaken box, which was 
enclosed within the repaired leaden casket, and returned 
to the vault. 

" Thus you have hearde the variable chaunce and 
tragedicall hystory of Kynge Henry the Sixthe."i 

1 Hall's Chronicle, 257. 



APPENDICES 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

Note. — The Charter, Patent, Close and Treaty, Rolls and the Ward- 
robe and Household Accounts {bundles 407 to 411) of the reign furnish 
the greater fart of the Itinerary. Other sources are referred to in 
footnotes. 

1482-3. Apparently Windsor. 

1423. Nov. 13, Windsor to Staines; 14, Staines; 15, Kingston; 
16, Kennington ; 17, Westminster (first appearance in Parliament) ^ ; 
26, Parliament, thence to Waltham Cross. ^ Dec. Hertford Castle 
for Christraas.3 

1424. Mar. 23 to April 1, Sutton; 16 to May 4, Langley ; 5, Wey. 
bridge; 6-11, Windsor; 12, Sutton; 13 to June 10, Kennington. 

1425. April 28, from Windsor through the City to Kennington ; * 
30, Westminster (opening of Parliament) ; ^ May 2, Parliament ; ^ 
July 14, Parliament ; '' Nov. 5, Eltham to London ; ^ Christmas, 
Eltham.9 

1426. Feb. 18,io to June 1, Leicester; 2, to July 20, Kenilworth. 

1427. Oct. 13, Westminster (opening of Parliament). ^^ 

1428. Easter, Hertford Castle.^- Friday in Easter week, to St. 
Albans, for nine days;^^ April 19, left St. Albans for Windsor, i* 
Christmas, Eltham.^^ 

In May the Privy Council decreed that the King should inhabit 
his castles of Wallingford and Hertford in summer and those of 

^ Fabyan. - Three Fifteenth Century Chrons. (ed. Gairdner). 
^ Fabyan. * Ibid. * Rolls of Parliament. 

* Ibid. '' Ibid. * Gregory's Chron. 

* Proc. Privy Council. i" Rolls of Parliament. 
11 Ibid. 12 Chron. Mon. S. Albani. 

" Ibid. 1* Ibid. i^ Ibid. 

375 



376 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

Windsor and Berkhampstead in winter, but obviously this was 
not strictly adhered to. 

1429. Sept. 22, Westminster (opening of Parliament);^ 26, 
Parliament; 2 Nov. 6, Coronation. Dec. 12, Parliament ;3 20, 
Parliament.* 

1430. Feb. 23, Westminster (last day of Parliament) ; ^ 24, 
Eltham ; * Palm Sunday, Canterbury ; (remained there for Easter).'' 
April 23, Dover to Calais ; ^ (remained there three months). Jtily 
29, Rouen; (remained there nearly eighteen months). 

1431. Nov. 30, St. Denis 9 (from Rouen). Dec. 3, Paris; 16, 
Coronation ; 27, left Paris. 

1432. Jan. 4, Rouen; 8? Calais.^" Feb. 9, Dover;" 20, Black- 
heath, Deptford, Southwark, to St. Paul's, thence to Westminster. ^^ 
May 12, Parliament; 14, Parliament. July 17, Parliament. 

1433. July 8, Westminster (opening of Parliament); 11 — Nov. 3 
and 24; Dec. 21, Parliament. 

1434. No record. 

1435. July 13, Windsor.^^ Q^f^ jq^ Westminster (opening of 
Parliament); \Z~Nov. 8, Dec. 23, Parliament. 

1436. Jan. 28, Westminster, i* 

1437. Jan. 21, Westminster (opening of Parliament); 2Z-Feb. 25, 
and Mar. 27, Parliament. April 18-19, Kennington; 20, Sheen; 
21, Staines; 22 to 25, Windsor; 26, Windsor, Easthampstead ; 
27, Easthampstead, Merton; 28, Windsor; 29, Colnbrook, Sheen; 
ZO~May 1, Sheen; 2-10, Kennington; 11, Staines; 12-15, East- 
hampstead; 16, Chertsey; 17-22, Merton; 23-25, Sheen; 26-30, 
Merton; 2\-June 2, Sheen; 3, Kennington; 4, Tottenham; 5-7, 
Copped Hall; 8-17, Hertford; 18-19, Waltham Abbey; 20 Kenning- 
ton; 21-22, Sheen; 23, Merton; 24-30, Kennington. July 1, 
Edgware; 2-11, Berkhampstead; 12-15, Sheen; 16, Barnet; 17-18, 
St. Albans; 19, Dunstable; 20, Dunstable, Brickhill and Stony 
Stratford; 21-25,' Stony Stratford; 26-28, Northampton; 29, 
Market Harborough; ZQ-A^^g. 4, Leicester; 5, Loughborough; 
6-7, Nottingham; 8, Newstead Abbey; 9-11, Nottingham; 12, 

^ Rolls of Parliament. ^ Ibid. ^ Ibid. 

* Ibid. ^ Ibid. * Gregory's Chron. 

' Chron. Mon. S. Albani. * Stevenson. ® Bourgeois de Paris. 

^^ Gregory's Chron. ^^ Chron. of London. 

" Ibid. 13 Stevenson, i* Ibid. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 377 

Loughborough; 13-18, Leicester; 19, Nuneaton; 20-25, Kenil- 
worth; 26, Stratford-on-Avon ; 27-28, Winchcomb; 29, Chipping 
Norton; 3(y-Sept. 8, Woodstock; 9-11, Boarstall; 12, Aylesbury; 
13-22, King's Langley; 23, Uxbridge; 24-Oc<. 15, Sheen; 16-17, 
Sheen, Hanworth; 18-Nov. 5, Sheen ;i 6-14, Hospital of St. John 
at Clerkenwell ; ^ 15, Westminster, Sheen; 16, 17, Sheen; 18, Staines, 
19-26, Easthampstead ; ^ 21-Dec. 2, Manor in Windsor Park ; 
3, Cohibrook; 4, Colnbrook, Sheen; 5-9, Sheen; 10, Sheen, Han- 
worth; 11-13, Hanworth; 14-18, Sheen; 19, Kennington;* 20-31, 
Eltham. 

1438. Jan. 1-6, Eltham ; 7, Eltham, Kennington ; 8, Kennington ; 
9, Kingston; 10, Staines; 11-14, Easthampstead; 15, Easthamp- 
stead, Manor in Windsor Park; 16-17, Manor in Windsor Park; 
18-20, Reading; 21-28, Sonning; 29, Maidenhead; ZQ-Mar. 3, 
Windsor; 4, Windsor, Cohibrook; 5, Brentford; 6-9, Kennington; 
10-13, Eltham; 14,Dartford; 1 5, Dartford, Rochester; 16, Rochester; 
17-25, Maidstone; 26-30, Leeds Castle; 31, Rochester. April 1, 
Dartford ; 2, Kennington ; 3, Brentford, Colnbrook ; 4-25, Windsor ; 
26, Windsor, Colnbrook, Kennington; 21 -May 19, Kennington ;S 
20, Kennington,« Cohibrook; 21-25,^ Windsor; 26, 27, Windsor, 
Henley; 28, 29, Henley, Windsor, Dogmersfield ; 30, Henley; 31- 
June 8, Windsor; 9, Windsor, Colnbrook; 10-13, Westminster; 
14-20, Westminster,^ Havering atte Bower; 21-29, Havering atte 
Bower ; 30, Havering atte Bower,^ Ingatestone. Jvly 1, Chelmsford ; 
2, Brentwood ; 3-7, Havering atte Bower ; ^o 8, Havering atte Bower, 
Westminster; 9-11, Westminster; 12, Westminster,^^ Windsor; 13- 
20, Windsor; 21-27, Easthampstead; 28, Dogmersfield, Odiham; 
29, Odiham; 30-31, Kingsclere. Axig. 1, Kingsclere, Andover; 
2-4, Sombourn; 5-8, Clarendon; 9, 10, SaUsbury; 11, Salisbury, 
Marlborough; 12, Marlborough, Faringdon; 14-25, Woodstock; 
26, Banbury; 21~SepL 13, Warwick Castle; 16-19, The Lodge at 

' Proc. Privy Council, v. 64, 67, 69. 
2 Ibid., V. 71-2. 

* Bekyngton Corres. (Rolls Ser.), i. 91. 

* Manor at Kempton Park with which Kennington has been 
identified. 

^ Proc. Privy Council, v. 95. ' Bekyngton Corres., i. 20. 

' Ibid., ii. 55. * Ibid., i. 254. 

» Ibid., ii. 80. i« Ibid., i. 67. 
" Ibid., i. 3. 



378 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

Fulbrook; 24, 25, Woodstock; 27, Banbury. Oct. 5, Abingdon; 
6-10, Oxford; 13-15, Woodstock; ^ 19, Wilcot; 28, High Wycombe; 
Nov. 1-5, 8-15, Eltham; 18, 19, Windsor Castle; 21-25, Easthamp- 
stead; 30, Warwick. Dec. 1, Kenilworth Castle; 4, 5, 11, Good 
Rest Lodge; 13, Kenilworth Castle; 14, 15, Plaisant Marreys; 
19-30, Kenilworth Castle. 

1439. Ja«.- 6, Kenilworth; 11-15, Good Rest Lodge; 20, Wood- 
stock; 2Q-Feb. 15,2 Easthampstead; jg^ Easthampstead, Windsor ; 
17-19, Windsor; 20, Windsor, Brentford; 21-27, Eltham; 28, 
Eltham ; Fulham. Mar. 3, Westminster ; 4-10, Westminster or Ful- 
ham; 11, Westminster, Dartford; 12, Rochester, Sittingbourne ; 14, 
Rochester; 17, Rochester Cathedral; 18-28, Hospital of St. James 
by Westminster; 29-April 9-27, Windsor. 3Iay 10, Windsor 
Castle ; ^ 27, Kennington ; 30, Windsor Castle. June 18, Hospital 
of St. James by Westminster. July 10, 11, Sheen;* 29, East- 
hampstead ; 30, Odiham Castle. Aug. 24, Windsor Castle. Sept. 5, 
Windsor Castle; ^11, Kennmgton;^ 17, Windsor Castle; 23, Bag- 
shot; 26, Guildford. Od. 3, Windsor Castle. 7 iVov. 5, 6, Eltham ; « 
15, Kennington; » 23 10-28, Westminster. Dec. 1, Windsor Castle; 
11-21," Westmmster; 24, 27,i2 Windsor Castle. 

1440. Jan. 8, Windsor Castle; Jan. 15-Feb. 10, Reading ;i3 
11, Sonning; 14-22, Reading. Mar. 2, Rochester; 4, Sittingbourne; 
5, 6, Canterbury ; 22 i'i-29, Windsor Castle ; 30, Kennington. April 9, 
The Lodge at Windsor ; 29, Windsor Castle ; ^^ May 3, Kennington ; 
4, Westminster; ^^ 5, Kemiington; " 10-13, Westminster; ^s 14-28, 
Windsor Castle ; ^^ June 2, Kennington ; 10, KenningtoUj^" Windsor 
Castle; 14, Westminster; 15-21, Kennington; -^ 22, 26 --Windsor 

1 Bekyngton Corres., i. 5G. ^ Ibid., i. 200. 

* Ibid., 1. 67. * Ibid., i. 236. 

* Proc. Privy Council, v. 109. ® Ibid., 117. 

' Bekyngton Corres., ii. 51. ' Ibid., i. 74, 198. 

» Ibid., 77. . " Ibid., 197. 

^1 Rolls of Parliament, v. 3; Behyngton Corres., i. 71, 13. 
12 Bekyngton Corres., 215. 
i» Ibid., i. 52, 99, 77, 47, 207, 65; ii. 53. 
1* Ibid., i. 41. 15 j^jYZ., i. 81. 

i« Ibid., 187. 1' Ibid., 107. " Ibid., 70, 84-6. 

i» Ibid., 27, 94, 98, 189. ^o p,.oc. Privy Council, v. 118. 

21 Bekyngton Corres., i. 94; Proc. Privy Council, v. 120. 
28 Bekyngton Corres., i. 122. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 379 

Castle; 30, Havering atte Bower. ^ July 2, 4, Westminster; 6,^^ 7, 
Windsor Castle; 12, 15, Easthampstead ; 18, Easthampstead, 
Windsor Castle; » 22, 23, Windsor Castle; 27, Wycombe; 3l-Aug. 2, 
Woodstock; 20, Westminster; 30, The Lodge in Windsor Park; 
31-Sept. 2,4 The Manor in Windsor Park;5 6, 12, Windsor Castle; 
14, St. Albans; 16-17, Coptfold Hall;^ 22, 25, Windsor Castle; 
26, Coptfold Hall; ' Oct. 5, Windsor Castle; 8, 11, Sheen; 22-Nov. 3, 

5, 20, Westminster; 8 21, Windsor Castle ;» 27, Windsor Castle, 
Westminster; 28-Dec. 1, Westminster; 7, Windsor Castle;!" 11, 
Dogmersfield ; 12,^1 13, Easthampstead; 22, Dogmersfield, Wmdsor 
Castle ; 23, 25, Windsor Castle ; i- 28, 30, Dogmersfield. 

1441. Jan. 2, 3, Dogmersfield; 8, The Lodge in Windsor Park; 

10, Westminster; 15, 18, 19, Sheen; 20, Chiswick; 22, 25, Sheen;" 
29,1* 31^ Westminster. Feb. 2, Windsor Castle; ^^ 3, is 6,1^ 7, 13, 14, 
Westminster; 24, Dogmersfield; 27,i8 Mar. 17, 18, Westminster; 
20, Dogmersfield; 25, 28, Windsor Castle. April 2, Cambridge; i^ 

6, 8, 10, 20 Windsor Castle ; 20, Dogmersfield, Windsor Castle. 
May 4.,^^ 5, Sheen; 8, Sheen, Westminster; 11,^2 12,^3 Sheen; U,^^ 
Sheen, Westminster; 16, 24, 30, Westminster; 31, Sheen; June 8, 

11, Dogmersfield; 17, 18, Mortlake; 21, Sheen;" 22, Westminster; 
26, Sheen; ^8 30, Westminster. July 1, Westminster, Havering atte 
Bower; 27 7, 9, 21, Westminster. Aug. 9, Hertford Bridge; 10, V/est- 
minster; 16, Sheen; 28 18, Sheen,29 Dogmersfield; 22,3o Sheen; 30, 
Dogmersfield, Westminster. Sept. 2, 26, Dogmersfield. Oct. 1, 2, 

1 Bekynton Corres., i. 135. 2 Proc. Privy Council, v. 121. 

' Bekyngton Corres., i. 50. * Ibid., ii. 60, 77. 

* Ibid., i. 14. « " Copped Hall " ; Proc. Privy Council, v. 122. 

' Proc. Privy Council, v. 124. * Bekyngton Corres., i. 36, 136. 
» Ibid., i. 29. i" Ibid., ii. 96. " Ibid., i. 182. 

12 Ibid., 210; ii. 97. !=> Ibid., i. 38; ii. 56. 

1* Proc. Privy Council, v. 131. i« Ibid., 132. 
1* Bekyngton Corres., ii. 98 ; i. 34. 
" Ibid. " 75id.^ i. 185. 

1* Docviment at King's College, cit. Willis, Archit. Hist, of Cam- 
bridge, i. 321. 

20 Proc. Privy Council, v. 139. 21 jbid., v. 142. 
22 Ibid. 23 Bekyngton Corres., i. 211. 

2* Proc. Privy Council, v. 145. 25 Bekyngton Corres., i. 235. 
28 Ibid., 239. 27 /5id.^ ii. 99. 28 ma., X. 130. 

2» /6icZ. 30 jft^d., 137. 



380 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

Hertford, King's Langley ; 3, Hertford, Langley, Waltham, Totten- 
ham; Westminster, Sheen; 6-11, Sheen; 12-15, Westminster; ^ 
16-26, Eltham; 26, Eltham, Westminster; 27, Uxbridge; 28, Sheen; 
29, Sheen, Westminster; 30-Dec. 31, The Manor in Windsor 
Park or Eltham. ^ Perhaps Dec. 13 at Hillingdon.* 

1442. Jan. 1, 7, Eltham; 8, Eltham, Dartford, Rochester; 9, 
Sittingbourne, Ospringe; 10, Canterbury; 11, Ospringe; 12, Sitting- 
bourne, Rochester; 13, Rochester, Dartford, Eltham; 14, Eltham, 
Westminster; 15, Eltham; 16, Eltham, Kennington, Sheen; 17, 
Sheen; 18, Sheen, Westminster; 19, Staines; 20, 21, Easthampstead ; 
22, Easthampstead, Staines; 23, Sheen, Westminster; 24-28, West- 
minster ; ^ 29, The Wardrobe in London ; ^ Z(y-Feb. 24, Westminster, 
Eltham; 25-Jiine 5, Sheen, Windsor, Colnbrook or Westminster.^ 
6, Wmdsor, Brentford; 7-11, Eltham; 12, Eltham, Clapham, Sheen; 
13-17, Sheen; 18, Cohibrook; 19-July 9, Wuidsor; ' 10, Windsor, 
Brentford; 11-15, Fulham; 16, Brentford, Cohibrook; 11 -Sept. 30' 
apparently at Windsor or Sheen.s Oct. 4-30, Eltham; » Nov. 7-21, 
Westminster. Dec. 1, Westminster, Windsor; 6, 7-30, Dogmers- 
iield. 

1443. Jan. 1-9, Dogmersfield ; 13, Westminster; 15, Windsor; 
16, Dogmersfield; 27-30, Eltham." Feb. 2-27," Westminster, Chis- 
wick, Sheen. Mar. 2-18, Westminster; 26-April 6, Eltham ;i2 
11-24, Dogmersfield. May 5- Aug. 24, Westminster and Sheen ; ^^ 
28, Kennington. Sept. 16, Westminster. Oct. 1-18, Windsor; 
19, Colnbrook, Sheen; 20-29, Sheen; 30, Colnbrook, Windsor; 
31-Nov. 5, Windsor; 7, Windsor, Easthampstead; 8, 9, East- 
hampstead; 10-27, Sheen;" 28, Colnbrook, Windsor; 29-Dec. 

^ Proc. Privy Council, v. 153. 

* There is no evidence to show at which place the King was in 
residence. 

3 Treaty R. 124, m. 22. * Rolls of Parliament, v. 34. 

^ " Gard, London." 

^ April 15 he was, perhaps, at Chiswick, and May 24 and June 1 
at Dogmersfield. 

' Bekyngton Corres., ii. 180. 

* Proc. Privy Council, v. 192-207. 
» Ibid., V. 210, 212, 214, 215. 

*" Rymer, xi. 18. ^^ Proc. Privy Council, v. 223-6. 

^^ Ibid., 249, 264. " Ibid., 267, 268, 273, 288. 

1* Eptries continue for Easthampstead till Dec. 10. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 381 

10, Windsor; 11-18, Sheen; 19, Colnbrook, Windsor; 20-31, 
Windsor. 

1444. Jan. 1-6, Windsor; 7, Windsor, Colnbrook, Sheen, 
Uxbridge, Rickmansworth ; 8-31, Sheen or King's Langley. 
Feb. \-Mar. 22, apparently at Sheen; 23-25, Hillingdon; 26, 
Wycombe; 27, Watlington; 28, Watlington, Culham; 2Q-April 4, 
Culham; 4, Culham, Abingdon; 5, Abingdon; 6-15, Abingdon; 
16-19, Culham; 20-26, Woodstock; 27, Islip, Tetsworth; 28, 
Stoken Church, Wycombe ; 29, Beaconsfield, Hillingdon ; dO-May 7, 
HilUngdon; 8, Hillingdon, Chalfont, Berkhampstead ; 9-25, Berk- 
hampstead or King's Langley ; 25, Berkhampstead, King's Langley, 
Chalfont ;i 26-28, Hillingdon; 29, Chalfont; 30-June 11, Berk- 
hampstead; 12, Chalfont, Uxbridge; 13, StanweU, Bagshot; 
14, Bagshot; 15, Farnham, Alton; 16, Wamford; 17, Southwick; 
18, Meon Stoke; 19, Tisted, Alton; 20, Farnham, Bagshot; 21, 
Bagshot; 22, Stanwell, Sheen; 23-July 19, Sheen; 2 20, Sheen, 
Staines, The Manor in Windsor Park; 21-26, The Manor in Windsor 
Park ; 27, The Manor in Windsor Park, Bagshot, Henley ; 28-Aug. 2, 
Henley ; 3, Henley ?, Easthamsptead ; 4, Marlow, Wycombe ; 
5, Stoken Church, Tetsworth; 6, Islip, Woodstock; 7-11, Wood- 
stock; 12-20, Langley in Whichewood; 21, Woodstock; 25, Islip, 
Tetsworth ; 26, Stoken Church, Wycombe ; 27, Marlow, The Manor 
in Windsor Park; 28~Sept. 10, Windsor; 11, Staines, Kingston; 
12, Clapham, Eltham; 13-16, Eltham; 17, Eltham, Clapham, 
Kingston; 18, Staines, Windsor; 19-30, Windsor. Oct. l(y-Dec. 30, 
Westminster. 

1445. Jan. 1-April 14, Westminster; 18, Southwick Priory ;3 
22, Titchfield Abbey;* May 7-25,^ Westminster; 26, The Tower 
of London ; ' 28, London ; ' 30-June » 19, Westminster. July 3, 5, 
Windsor Castle; 9 13 10-I6," Westminster; 17, Windsor; ^^ 19,26, 

^ The King was probably at Berkhampstead. 
' Payments at King's Langley or Chiltem Langley throughout 
July, Aug. and Sept. 
^ Rymer, xi. 83. 

* Marriage of the King and Margaret of Anjou. 
' Proc. Privy Council, vi. 39. 

' Gregory's Chron., 186. ' Chron. of London, 186. 

« Ibid. ; Davies, English Chron., 61 ; Treaty R. 127, m. 6. 

* Rymer, xi. 89. i« L. and P. of Henry VI. (Rolls. Ser), i. 1. 
" Ibid., i. 124. " Ibid. 



382 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

Westminster; 27, 30, Fulham;! Sept. 1-Ocf. 20, Westminster; 
28, Eltham; - Nov. 2-27, Westminster. Dec. 25, Windsor.^ 

1446. Jan. 2,* 3,^ Windsor Castle; S-Mar. 30, Westminster. 
April 21, Canterbury; 2'i-July 20, Westminster. Aug. 1,^ Augus- 
tinian Friary, Lymi; 1-Oct. 18, Westminster; 25, Windsor.' Nov. 
8, 10, 14, Westminster; 16, Eltham, Dartford; 17, Gravesend, 
Rochester; 18, Sittingbourne, Ospringe; 19, 20, Canterbury; 21, 
Canterbury, Ospringe ; 22, Sittingbourne ; 23, Gravesend, Dartford ; 
24, Eltham, Westminster; 25-Z>ec. 1, Westminster; 2, Westminster, 
Brentford; 3, Colnbrook, Windsor; 4-12, Windsor or Sheen; 
13-19, Sheen; 19, Sheen, Cohibrook; 20, Windsor; 21, 22, Windsor, 
Sheen; 23, Colnbrook; 24-31, Windsor. 

1447. Jan. 1-9, Windsor, Bagshot ; 11, Guildford; 12, Guildford, 
Chiddingfold ; 13, Midhurst, Arundel; 14, 15, Chichester; 16, 
Havant, Southwick; 17, Botley, South(ampton) ; 18-21, Southamp- 
ton; 24, Alresford, Alton; 25, Alton, Farnham; 26, Guildford; 
27, Windsor, Guildford, "Newerk;" 2%—Feh. 2, Windsor; 3, 
Windsor, Uxbridge, Watford; 4, Hatfield, Hertford; 5, Hertford; 
6, Buntingford, Royston; 7, Cambridge; 8, Newmarket; 9 — • 
Mar. 5, Bury St. Edmunds ; 8 6, Thetford ; 7, Pickenham,^ Litham ; 
8, Walsingham; 9, " Hilberworth," Brandon Ferry; 10, Mildenhall, 
Newmarket; 11-14, Cambridge; 15, Royston; 16, Ware, 
"Ponontz;" 17, Cheshunt, Tottenham; 18, Tottenham; 19, West- 
minster; 1" 20, Brentford, Colnbrook, Windsor; 21 — Mar. 4. Appar- 
ently at Windsor but " testes " at Canterbury on Mar. 24," 31,^^ 
April 6, 1 1 and at Maidstone, Mar. 29 ; Windsor, Baghot, Farnham ; 
5, Farnham, Alton, Alresford; 6-8, Winchester; 9, Bishop's 
Waltham; 10, Alresford, Alton; 11, Farnham; 12, Bagshot; 
13-15, Windsor, Greenwich; 16, Windsor, Kingston, Westminster, 
Greenwich; 17 — June 23, Windsor with occasional visits to West- 
minster by Colnbrook and Brentford ; 24, 25, Windsor, Greenwich ; 

1 L. and P. of Henry VI., 142-3, 148. * Rymer, xi. 105. 

' M. d'Esconchy, Chronique, iii. 153. 
« L. and P. of Henry VI. ii. (1), 371. 

* Rymer, xi. 111. ' Capgrave, 137. 
' Proc. Privy Council, vi. 56. 

« Rolls of Parliament, v. 128 {Feb. 10); Rymer, xi. 155 (Feb. 24). 

* " Piknamwade," 

1' Proc. of Privy Couticil, vi. 61. 

" Rymer, Foadera, xi. 160. " Ibid. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 383 

26-28, Greenwich, Westminster, Windsor; 29, Windsor, Greenwich; 
30, Greenwich, Brentford, Colnbrook. July 1, Colnbrook, Brent- 
ford, Greenwich; 2-14, Greenwich, Westminster; 15, 16, West- 
minster, Greenwich, Eltham; 17, Greenwich, Stratford; 18, Strat- 
ford, Havering atte Bower; 19, Barking, Westminster; 20-27. 
Westminster, Green-\vich; 28, Westminster, Brentford; 29, Brent- 
ford, Colnbrook, Windsor; 30, 31, Windsor. Aug. 1, Windsor, 
Wycombe; 2, Stoken Church, Tetsworth; 3, Islip, Woodstock; 
4, Woodstock; 5, 6, Oseney; 7, Dorchester, Ewelme; 8, Reading; 
9, Maidenhead, Windsor; 10-15, Windsor; 16, Windsor, West- 
minster; ^ 17, Windsor, Sonning; 18, Theale, Newbury ; 19, Hunger- 
ford, Marlborough; 20-27, 28, Marlborough, Bishops Cannings, 
Potterne; 29, Trowbridge, "Farley" (Monkton Farley?); 30, 
Bath; 31, Keynsham, Bristol. Sept. 1, Sudbury; 2, 3, Sudburj^, 
Malmesbury; 4, Dorchester, Lechlade; 5, Faringdon, Abmgdon; 
6, WalJingford, Sonning; 7, Maidenhead; 8-12, Windsor; 13, 
Windsor, Colnbrook; 14, Brentford, Westminster; 15, Brent- 
ford, Westminster; 16, 17, Westminster, Greenwich; 18, West- 
minster; ^ 19-21, Westminster, Greenwich; 22, Westminster, 
Greenwich, " WelUng," Dartford; 23, Gravesend; 24, Gravesend, 
Greenwich; 25, Rochester; 26, Rochester, Sittingbourne ; 27, 
Sittingboume, Ospringe ; 28, Ospringe, Canterbury ; 29, Feversham ; 
30, Maidstone. Oct. 1-19, Westminster; 23, Eltham; 3 24-27, 
Nov. 3-25, Westminster; 28, Westminster, Brentford; 29-Z>ec. 7, 
Windsor; 8, Windsor, Westminster; 9, Windsor, Brentford; 10, 
Westminster; 11, Westminster,* Romford, Dartford; 12, Dartford, 
Gravesend, Rochester; 13, Rochester, Sittingbourne, Ospringe; 
14, Canterbury; 15, Ospringe; 16, Ospringe, Sittingbourne, 
Rochester; 17, Rochester; 18, Rochester, Dartford, Gravesend; 
19, Westminster, Brentford, Windsor; 20, Windsor; 21, Windsor, 
Westmmster; 22-31, Windsor. 

1448. Jan. l-Feb. 13, Windsor, Brentford and Westminster;^ 
14, 15, Windsor, Eltham; 16, Eltham, Windsor; 17-28, Windsor, 
Brentford, Eltham or Greenwich; 29, Greenwich, Gravesend, 
Rochester. Mar. 1, Sittingbourne, Osi^ringe; 2, Ospringe, Cantcr- 

^ RjTner, Fadera, xi. 188. - Ibid. 

' L. and P., ii. (2) 703. 

* M. d'Esconchy, op. cit., iii. 175. 

' Croydon, Jan. 11, 15, 19, and Maidstone Jan. 1, 7, 



384 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

bury; 3, Canterbury; 4, Ospringe; 5, Sittingbourne, Maidstone; 
6, Cobham, Dartford; 7, 8, Eltham; 9, Eltham, Westminster, 
Windsor; 10, Windsor, Greenwich; 11, Greenwich, Tower of 
London, Westminster, Windsor; 12, Windsor, Eton College, ^ 
Brentford; 13, Colnbrook, Windsor; U-April 10, Windsor; 
11, Windsor, Brentford; 12, Camberwell, Eltham; 13, 14, Eltham; 

15, Eltham, Westminster; 17, Clapham, Brentford; 18, Brentford, 
Windsor; 19-28, Windsor; 29, Windsor, Merton. i/oy 1, Merton, 
Windsor; 2-26, apparently Windsor; 27, Windsor, Brentford; 
28, Clapham, Eltham; 29-Ju7ie 4, Eltham; 5, Eltham, Walthara 
(Abbey); 6, Waltham (Abbey), Ware; 7, Buntmgford, Royston; 
8, 9, Cambridge ; 10, Borwell, Mildenhall; 11, Brandon Ferry; 12, 
Brandon Ferry, Litham ; 13, Litham, Walsingham ; 14, Walsingham, 
Dereham; 15, Dereham, Norwich; 16, Norwich; 17, Attleborough ; 
18, Attleborough, Thetford; 19, Thetford, Bury St. Edmunds; 
20, Bury St. Edmunds, Woolpit; 21, Bury St. Edmunds, Milden- 
hall; 22-30, Cambridge. J«??/ 1, Cambridge, Royston; 2, Royston, 
Ware; 3, Ware, Waltham (Abbey); 4, Edmonton, Westminster; 
5, Westminster, Brentford, Windsor; 6-17, Windsor; 18, Windsor. 
Bagshot, Hartford Bridge; 19, Basingstoke, Ashe; 20, Wallop, 
Clarendon; 21, 22, Clarendon; 24, 25, Shaftesbury; 26, Temple- 
combe,2 Sherborne; 27-29, Glastonbury; 30, Wells; 31, Chew.' 
A2ig. 1, Bristol ; 2, Bath ; 3, Castlecombe, Malmesbury ; 4, Malmes- 
bury; 5, Cirencester; 6, Lechlade; 7, Ewelme; 9-15, Windsor; 

16, Windsor, Westminster; 17-21, Windsor; 22, Windsor, West- 
minster; 23-Sept. 2, Windsor; 3, Windsor, Brentford; 4, West- 
minster; 5, Waltham (Abbey); 6, Waltham (Abbey), Puckeridge, 
Barkway; 7, 8, Cambridge; 9, Huntingdon; 10, Stilton; 11, 
Wanford, Stamford; 12, Essendine,* Grantham; 13, Newark, 
Southwell; 14, 15, Southwell; 16, " Harow," Retford, Scrooby ; 

17, Scrooby, Doncaster; 18, Pontefract ; 19, Shirborne, " Heyle ; " ^ 
20-22, York ; 23, York, Alne, Topchffe ; 24, Topcliffe, Northallerton: 
25, Northallerton, Darlington; 26, Ferryhill, Durham; 27-29, 
Durham; 30, Ferryhill, Darlington. Oct. 9, Beverley;' 13, 14, 

^Document at King's College, cit. Willis, op. cit., i. 221. 

* " Totme." ^ Chew Magna or Chew Stoke. 
« " Eston." 

* Healaugh Hall near Tadcaster ? 
•* M. d'Esconchy, iii. 210. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 385 

York; 15, Sherburn, Pontefract; 16, Blyth; 17, Kettlethorp, 
Lincoln; 18-20, Lincoln; 21, Navenby, Grantham ; 22, Essendine,^ 
Stamford; 23, "Mylton;" 24, Thorney; 25, Sawtry, Hunting- 
don; 26-28, Cambridge; 29, Royston; 30, " Richworth," ^ Luton; 
31-Nov. 2, St. Albans, Tittenhanger Park; 3, Westminster; 3- 
Dec. 2, Eltham with visits to Westminster and Tower of London; 
3, Eltham, Brentford; 4, 5, Windsor; 6, Windsor, Westminster; 
7-9, Windsor; 10, Windsor, Brentford; 11, Brentford, Eltham; 
12, Eltham; 13, Eltham, Gravesend, Rochester; 14, 15, Canter- 
bury; 16, Ospringe; 17, Sittingbourne, Rochester; 18, Eltham; 
19, Eltham, Westminster,^ Brentford; 20-22, Windsor; 23, 
Brentford, Windsor; 24-31, Windsor. 

1449. Jan. 1-14, Windsor; 15, Windsor, Bagshot; 16, Farnham; 
17, Alton, Alresford; 18, 19, Winchester; 20, Alresford; 21, Alton; 
22, Farnham; 23, Bagshot, Windsor; 24-i^e6. 9, Windsor and 
Westminster; 10, Windsor, Brentford; 11, Westminster; 12, 
Westminster,* Kingston; 13, Westminster?, Greenwich; 14- 
Mar. 23, Greenwich, Eltham, and Westminster ; 22, 23, Westminster, 
Sheen; 24, Windsor; 25, 26-June 7, Apparently Windsor with 
visits to Westminster; 19-July 15, Winchester; 16, Winchester, 
Alresford, Holybourne; 17, Holybourne, Farnham; 18, Bagshot; 
19, Windsor; 20, Windsor, Staines, Westminster; 21, Kingston, 
Merton, Sheen; 22, Sheen, Merton, Greenwich; 23, 24, Eltham, 
Westminster; 25-27, Eltham; 28-31, Eltham, Westminster. 
Aug. 1-11, Eltham; 12, Eltham, Brentford; 13, Brentford, Wind- 
sor; 14-17, Windsor; 18, Windsor, Brentford, Westminster; 
19, Hackney, Waltham; 20, Ware, Buntingford; 21, Royston, 
Cambridge; 22-24, Cambridge; 25, Ely; 26, " Wilnate," Brandon 
Ferry; 27, " Hilberworth," Litham; 28, Walsingham; 29, Dere- 
ham; 30, 31, Norwich. Sept. 1, Wymondham, Thetford; 2, 
Thetford ?, Bury St. Edmunds ; 3, Woolpit, Newmarket ; 4, New- 
market ?, " Baverham," Barkway ; 5, Ware, Waltham; 6, Hackney, 
Eltham; 7-9, Eltham; 10, 11, Eltham, Sheen; 12, 13, Eltham, 
Sheen, Westminster;* IQ-Dec. 19, Westminster; 25, Greenwich. 

1450. Jan. 20-April 6, Westminster; 22-June 8, Leicester; 

^ " Eston." * Letch worth ? 

' Rymer, Foedera, xi. 220. * Rolls of Parliament, v. 141. 

' Rymer, Foedera, xi. 241. 
« L. and P., Henry VI., ii. (2) 770. 
CO 



386 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

16-18, Hospital of St. John at Clerkenwell ; ^ 25, Westminster 

28, Westminster,^ Blackheath,^ Greenwich, London; 29-Aug. 11, 
Westminster; 18, Brentford;* Sept. 2, 5, 9, Westminster; 11, 
Rochester; 16, Maidstone; 21-24, Canterbury; 28-Oc<. 8, West- 
minster; 9, Westminster, Brentford; 10-13, Chertsey;^ 14, 
Bagshot; 15, Farnham; 16, Alton; 17, Stoke Meon, Bishop's 
Waltham; 18, 19, Bishop's Waltham; 20, West Meon, Alton; 21, 
Alton, Farnham; 22, Farnham, Guildford; 23-Nov. 4, Sheen; 
5-27, Westminster ; ^ 28, Westminster, Blackf riars in London ; ^ 
29-Dec. 3, Westminster ; 4, Westminster, Blackfriars in London ; ^ 
5-31, Westminster. 

1451. Jan. 1-27, Westminster ; 28, Westminster, Dartford ; » 

29, Gravesend, Rochester; 30, Sittingbourne, Ospringe; 31 
Ospringe. Feb. 1-7, Canterbury; 8, Dover; 9, Sandwich; 10, 11 
Canterbury; 12, Ospringe; 13, Sittingbourne, Rochester; 14-16 
Rochester; 17, 18, Maidstone; 19-21, Rochester; 22, Dartford 
23, City of London," Westminster; 2'L-April 2, Westminster 
3-16, Westminster, Sheen; ll-June 10, Westminster, Brentford 
Colnbrook or Windsor; 11, Westminster, Waltham; 12-21, Hert 
ford; 22, Hertford, Westminster, Croydon; 23, 24, Croydon 

25, Sevenoaks; 26, Tonbridge, Westminster; 27-30, Tonbridge 
Jnly 1, "Mavyle; " i" 2-5, Lewes; 6, Bramber; 7, Arundel; 8-12; 
Chichester; 13, Southwick; 14, 15, Winchester; 16, Romsey 
17-21, Salisbury; 22, Andover; 23, Newbury; 24, 25, Reading 

26, Maidenhead; 27, Stames, Kingston; 28, Kingston, Eltham 
29, Eltham; 30, Eltham, Dartford; 31, Gravesend, Rochester 
Atig. 1, Rochester; 2, Sittmgbourne, Ospringe; 3-10, Canterbury 
11, Canterbury; 12-16,^^ Canterbury; 17, Ospringe; 18, Sitting 
bourne, Rochester; 19, Gravesend, Dartford; 20, Eltham, Kings 
ton; 21, Kingston, Sheen, Eltham; 22-27, Eltham; 28, Eltham; 
Greenwich; 29-Sept. 2, Greenwich; 3, Greenwich, Kingston 
4, Kingston; 5, Windsor; 6-8, Windsor; 9, Windsor, Uxbridge 
10-13, St. Albans; 14, Dunstable; 15, Stony Stratford; 16, North 

^ Jack Cade's rebellion. ^ RjTner, Fcedcra, xi. 272. 

^ Chronicles of London, 159. * Proc. Privy Council, vi. 86. 

^ Rolls of Parliament, v. 210. ® Proc. Privy Council, vi. 89. 

' Ibid., 90. * Chronicles of London, 162. 

» Ibid., 163. 1" Mayfield or Maresfield ? 
11 Proc. Privy Council, vi. 112. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 387 

ampton; 17, Market Harborough; 18-21, Leicester; 22-26, 
Coventry; 27, Kenilworth; 28, 29, Coventry; 30, Kenilworth. 
Oct. 25-Dec. 31, Westminster. 

1452. Jan. 1-Feb. 28, Westminster; 28, St. Mary Overey at 
Southwark; ^ Mar. 1, Westminster, Blackheath, Welling; ^ 2, 
Welling; 3 3, Blackheath;* 'i-Sept. 4, Westminster; 6, West- 
minster, Eltham, Sheen ; 8-Nov. 15, Westminster ; 22-27, Reading ; 
28-Z>ec. 8, Westminster; 10, 12, Canterbury; 16-26, Westminster. 

1453. Jan. 1-Mar. 12, Westminster; Mar. 6^-28, Reading. 
The King was apparently at Westminster till the summer, when he 
went west and was taken ill at Clarendon about the second week in 
August.® He remained at Clarendon till the beginning of October, 
when he came to Westmmster and later to Wmdsor. 

1454. The King during his illness was apparently at Windsor. 
On his recovery in December he went to Greenwich, where he waa 
on 27 Dec.'' 

1455. Jan. 9, Greenwich ; ^ Feb. 25-May 16, Westminster ; 
20 ?, Watford; » 22, St. Albans; i" 23"-/w?ie 1,^2 Bishop's Palace in 
London. July 9,^^ Westminster. At the end of July Henry went 
to Hertford, where he was again taken ill in October ; he was removed 
to Greenwich, where he probably remained till the middle of Feb. 
1456. 

1456. 1 Jan.-Feb. 24, Greenwich (?); 2S-May 21, Westminster; 
26, Oxford; 31, Sheen; June, U-Aiig. 24, Westminster. Sept. 2-8, 

» London Chronicle, 1446-52, 298. 

2 Ibid. » Ibid. * Ibid. 

* Rolls of Parliament, v. 227. 

* Chronica Regum Anglioe (Giles) gives about the feast of St. 
Thomas the Martyr, July 7, as the date of the King's illness at 
Clarendon. Ramsay {Lancaster and York, ii. 166) notes that he was 
still at Westminster on the 7th, and gives Aitg. 10 as the probable 
date. The King, however, seems to have issued documents till 
Sept. 5. 

' Paston Letters, i.Zl5. * Ibid. 

* An English Chronicle (Davis). 

1" Ibid.; the first battle of St. Albans ; the Chronicle of London 
gives the battle on the 23rd and the King to London on the 24th. 
" An Etiglish Chronicle (Davies), 71 ; Whetamstede, Chron. i. 171. 
^2 Whetamstede, Chron., i. 171. 
1* Rolls of Parliament, v. 278. 



388 ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 

Saltwood; 11, Canterbury; 12, Ford; 24r-Oct. ll,i Coventry; 
20, Eccleshall. Nov., Chester, Shrewsbury, Kenilworth. Dec. 8-13, 
Coventry ; 14, Thame ;] 22, 23, Westminster. 

1459. The King seems to have continued in the Midlands during 
the spring and summer. During Feb. and the beginning of 3Iar. 
he was at Coventry. June, 7, 10, Coventry; July 16, 18, Kenil- 
worth. Aug., Kenilworth. Dec. 6, Reading. 

1458. End of Jan, Abingdon, Westmuister. Feb. 1-24, Berk- 
hampstead.2 Mar. Vl-May 27, London, Westminster ; ^ 28, 
Greenwich.* .4 wgr. 6, Woodstock ; ^ 8, Berkhampstead; apparently 
remainder of the year at Westminster. 

1459. Jan., Feb., and beginning of Mar., Westminster. Mar. 25, 
St. Albans.^ May and June apparently in the Midlands. July 6- 
25,'' Coventry. Aug. 23, Coventry. Sept. 22, Market Harborough ; 
25, Walsall; 26, Wolverhampton. Oct. 9, Leominster; 10, Coven- 
try; 14, Ludlow; 20, Warwick. Nov. 20 ^-Dec. 22, Coventry; 
25, Leicester.^ 

1460. Jan. 26, Leicester; 31, Feb. 4, Northampton. May 19- 
June 26, Coventry; July 7, In a tent in Hardingstone Field, near 
the Abbey de Pratis, Northampton ; ^° 9, Between Harsington and 
Sandiford near Northampton; ^^ 16, London; ^^ 17, City of London, 
St. Paul's Cathedral; ^^ jg^ Westminster; 25, Bishop of London's 
Palace in London.^* Aug. 8,1^ 9,i« Canterbury ; 14-Oc^. 29,^' West- 
minster; Zl-Nov. 1, The Bishop's Palace in London ^S; 2-Dec. 22 
Westminster. 

^ Proc. Privy Council, vi. 290. 
" Wlietamstede, Chron., i. 296. 

* Chronicles of London, 168; Whetamstede, Chron., i., 308. 

* Chronicles of London, 168. 

* Proc. Privy Council, vi. 296. 

* Whetamstede Chronicle, i. 323 (Easter Sunday). 

' Rymer, Fcedera, xi. 423 (July 13) ; Proc. Privy Council, vi. 302. 

* Rolls of Parliament, v. 345. 

* L. and P., Henry VI., ii. (2) 771. 
^o Delivery of Seals to the King. 

" Three Fifteenth Cent. Chrons., 74. 

" Ibid.; L. and P., Henry VI., ii. (2), 273. 

^' Three Fifteenth Cent. Chrons., 74. 

^* Delivery of Seals to the King. ^^ Rymer, Foedera, xi. 461. 

^' Proc. Privy Council, vi. 304. i' Rolls of Parliament, v. 373. 

" Chronicles of London, 171; Gregory's chron-, 207. 



ITINERARY OF HENRY VI 389 

1461. Jan. 5-Feb. 9, Westminster; 17, St. Albans.^ Feb., 
Bamet, St. Albans, Dunstable. Mar. York. April 1-5, York ; ^ 
18, " Corvumbr " in Yorkshire; ^ 25, Scotland; * sometime during 
the remainder of the year Blackfriars, Edinburgh, Lmlithgow 
Castle ^ and Kirkcudbright. 

1462. Scotland, Mar. 27, Edinburgh.s 

1463. Edinburgh,' AlmvicJi, Norham, Bamborough, Edinburgh. 

1464. Jan. 2, Edinburgh ;8 between 3-3Iar. 30, St. Andrews ;» 
31, Bamborough." 3Iay 15, Bywell Castle; " 16-Dec. 31, West- 
moreland and neighbourhood, Crackenthorpe.^^ 

1465. Jan. \-July, Westmoreland, Waddinghall nr. Clithero,^^ 
a wood near Cletherwood, beside " Bungelly Hyppyngstones ; " " 
24, Islington, The Tower of London ;^^ 25-Dec. 31, Tower of London. ^^ 

1466-1469. Tower of London." 

1470. Jan. l-Oct, Tower of London; ^s 9, Westminster; !» 12, 
Tower of London; 2" 15-Dec. 28, Westminster. 

1471. Jan. ll-April 8, Westminster; 10, 11, The Bishop's Palace 
in London ; 21 13, 14, Bamet ; 22 15 ?-21, The Tower of London.23 

^ Gregory's Chron., 211 ; the second battle of St. Albans. 
2 Chronicles of London, 175. Henry left York after Easter 
Sunday, April 5. ^ Fasten Letters, ii. 7. 

* Fabyan, 640 ; Surrender of Berwick Castle to Scots. 

* Excheq. Rolls of Scotland, vii. 49, 60, 62, 80. 
« Wavrin, iii. 169-170. 

' Excheq. Rolls of Scotland, vii. 145, 211. 

* Charters and Documents relating to the City of Edinburgh 
(Scottish Record Soc), 119. * Wavrin, iii. 169-170. 

" Ibid., 183; Kennedy, Despatches, 171. 

" Fabyan, 654; Three Fifteenth Cent. Chrons., 178-9. 

^2 Rymer, Foedera, xi. 575. ^^ J. Warkworth, Chron., 108. 

" Ibid. 

" Three Fifteenth Cent. Chrons., 80; W. Worcester, 504. 

^* Devon. Issues, 489. ^'' Ibid. 

^' Ibid. 1' By word of mouth. 

2" Chronicles of London, 134. The 12th is given as the date of 
Henry's release from imprisonment, but it had probably taken place 
three days previously, as he had given orders by word of mouth 
that were enrolled on the Patent Roll. 

21 J. Warkworth, Chron., 123. 22 /tid., 124. 

2' Ibid., 124, 131; Chronicles of London, 131; Henry was murdered 
in the night of May 21-22. 



II 

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER II 

It may be of interest to some to know of what ingredients 
these strange dishes consuijied by our forefathers were 
composed. Several collections of fifteenth -century recipes 
have been preserved, notably those published in Warner's 
Antiquitates Culinarice, from which most of the following 
are quoted. 

To make Viand Royal : " Take a galone of vernage ^ and 
sethe [seethe] hit into iii quartes, and take a pynte therto 
and two pounde of sugree, ii lb. of cliardekoynes,^ a pounde 
of paste-roiale,^ and let hit sethe untyl a galone of vernage. 
Take the yokes of 60 eyren [eggs] and bete horn togeder, 
and drawe hom thurgh a straynour, and in the settynge 
doune of the fyre putte the yolkes therto, and a pynte of 
water of ewrose, and a quartrone of powder of gynger, and 
dresse hit in dysshes plate, and take a barre of golde foyle, 
and another of sylver foyle, and laye hom on Seint Andrews 
crosse wise above the potage ; and then take sugre plate 
or gynger plate, or paste royale, and kutte hom of losenges 
and plante hom in the voide places betwene the barres ; 
and serve hit forthe." At Henry's coronation banquet 
the Viand Royal Avas " plantyd with losygnes of golde." 

An elaborate Frytour or fritter was made thus — 

" Take white Flour e, Ale, Yeast, Safronn and Salt, and 
bete alle to-gederys as thikke as thou schuldyst make other 
bature * in fleyssche tyme, and than take fayre Applys 
and kut hem in maner of Fretourys and wete hem in the 
bature up on [and] downe, and frye hem in fayre Oyle and 

^ A kind of white wine. 

* It is suggested that these were either quinces or cardamums. 
3 See below. * Batter. 

390 



APPENDIX TO CHAPTER II 391 

caste hem in a dyssche and caste sugre ther-on and serve 
forth." 

Jelly was made either of fish or flesh. Thus with fish — 

" Take tenches, pykes, eelys, turbut and plays,^ kerve 
hem to pecys. Scalde hem, and waisshe hem clene. Drye 
hem with a cloth ; do [put] hem in a pane. Do thereto half 
vynegar and half wyne, and seeth it wel ; and take the 
fysshe and pyke it clene. Cole ^ the broth thurgh a cloth 
into an erthen pane. Do thereto powder of peper and 
safron ynowli [enough]. Lat it seeth, and skym it wel, 
whan it is ysode [boiled]. Dof the grees clene. Cowche 
[lay] fysshe on chargeors and cole the sewe [liquor] thorow 
a cloth onoward and serve it forth." 

If of flesh, the same operation was gone through with 
" swynes feet and snowtes, and the eerys,^ capons, 
connynges,* and calves fete." 

The serving of a Peacock was an important matter. 

" At a f easte roiall pecokkes shall be dight on this manner. 
Take and flee [flay] off the skynne with the fedurs, tayle, 
and nekke, and the hed thereon ; then take the skjni with 
all the fedurs, and lay hit on a table abrode ; and strawe 
thereon grounden comyn ; then take the pecokke, and roste 
hym, and endore ^ hym with rawe yolkes of egges ; and 
when he is rested, take hym of, and let hym coole awhile, 
and take and sowe hym in his skyn, and gilde his combe, 
and so serve hym forthe." 

Compost was a decoction kept ready for use, and was 
thus made — ■ 

"Take rote of parsel [? parsley], pasternate of rasens, 
scrape hem, and waisthe hem clene. Take rapes ^ and 
caboches ' ypared and icorne.^ Take an earthen pane 
with clene water, and set it on the fire. Cast all thise 
thereinne. Whan they buth boiled, cast thereto peeres^ 

1 Plaice. 2 Stain (?). 3 Ears. * Rabbits. 

5 Glaze. ^ Turnips. "^ Cabbages. 

8 i.e. the turnips pared and the cabbages cut up. ^ Pears. 



392 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER II 

and parboile hem wele. Take thise thynges up, and let it 
kele [cool] on a fair cloth. Do thereto salt, whan it is 
colde, in a vessel. Take vynegar, and powder, and safron, 
and do thereto. And lat alle thise thjrnges lye thereinne 
al nygt other [or] al day. Take vryne greke and hony 
clarified togider, lumbarde mustard, and raisons, corance 
al hool ; ^ and grynde powdor of canel,^ powder douce, 
and aneys hole,^ and fenell seed. Take all thise thynges, 
and cast togyder in a pot of erthe, and take thereof whan 
thou wilt, and serve it forth." 

Blank-desire, blank- dessorre, or bland-sure seems to have 
been usually made thus — 

" Take brawn of hennes or of capons ysoden * without 
the skyn, and he we hem as small as thou may. And grinde 
hem in a mortar. After take gode mylke of almandes, and 
put the bra"\vn therein; and stere it wel togyder and do 
hem to seeth ; and take floer of rys and amydon ^ and alye * 
it ; so that it be chargeant [stiff] ; and do thereto sugar a 
gode plenty, and a plenty of white grece.' And when it 
is put in disshes, strewe uppon it blanche powder, and thenne 
put in blank desire, and mawmenye in disshes togider and 
serve forth." 

Mawmenny was a composition on similar lines, with a 
little meat added, and yolks of eggs and saffron to make 
it yellow. Blank-desire was sometimes made, doubtless 
in Lent, with eggs and cheese in place of brawn. 

Paste-royal, which formed one of the ingredients of 
Viand Royal, was, in the following century, made in this 
way — 

" Take sugar, the quantity of four ounces, very finely 
beaten and searced ^ and put into it an ounce of cinnamon 
and ginger, and a grain of musk, and so beat it into paste 

^ Currants all whole. ^ Cinnamon. 

^ Aniseed whole. * Boiled. 

"• The starch of -wheat. * Mix. ' Lard. 

8 Put through a sieve. 



APPENDIX TO CHAPTER II 393 

with a little gum-dragon steep'd in rose-water ; and when 
you have beaten it into a paste in a stone mortar, then roul 
it thin, and print it with your moulders ; then dry it before 
the fire, and when it is dry, box it up and keep it all the 
year," 

Sauces innumerable, of elaborate composition, were 
used, a different one pertaining to every sort of game. The 
following curious recipe is also given for Mylk rost — 

" Nym [take] swete mylk, and do it in a panne. Nym 
eyreyn [eggs] wyth al the wyte, and swyng hem wel and 
cast thereto ; and coloure yt wyth safron, and boyl it tyl 
it wexe thykke ; and thanne seth [strain] yt thoru a 
culdore,^ and nym that levyth [what remains] and presse 
yt up on a bord ; and whan yt is cold larde it, and scher 
[stick] yt on schyverys,^ and rose yt on a grydern, and serve 
yt forthe." 

Lastly, a Sobre sawse for fish was made thus — 

" Take raysons, grynde hem with crustes of brede, and 
drawe it up with wyne. Do thereto gode powders, and 
salt, and seeth it. Fry roches, looches, sool,^ other [or] 
oother gode fyssh ; cast the sewe [liquor] above, and serve 
it forth." 

^ CuUinder. ^ Skewers. ^ Roach, pike and sole. 



Ill 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I. — Official Records of the Reign 

Unfortunately the Calendars to the Close Rolls of this 
reign have not yet been published, but the Calendars of 
the Patent Rolls are complete, and occupy six volumes. 
The Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council have 
been edited by Sir Harris Nicholas, and Vols. Ill to VI 
of his series cover this reign, stopping, however, in 1461. 
The accounts of the keeper of the Great Wardrobe for 
Henry VI will be found in the Exchequer L.T.R., Nos. 
6 and 7. The Miscellaneous Chancery Rolls contain various 
Wardrobe accounts and Household ordinances, and the 
Exchequer Q.R. are useful for records of the navy and 
shipments. 

Rolls of Parliament, Vols. IV and V, and Rymer's 
Foedera, Vols. X and XI, provide important documents 
for this reign. 

II. — Chronicles and Contemporary Writers 

Very few contemporary chronicles cover the whole of this 
reign, and even these are somewhat scanty. The English 
Chronicle, edited by J. S. Da vies, is the fullest and most 
useful, but the Short English Chronicle, one of the London 
records edited by Dr. James Gairdner in Three Fifteenth- 
Century Chronicles, is also valuable. Besides these there 
is William of Worcester, who, indeed, covers the whole 
reign in his Annales, but the information is meagre and of 
little use except for the period 1445 to 1461. His collection 
of documents concerning the affairs of Normandy and 
France is more useful, and forms part of the valuable 

394 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 395 

Letters and Papers illustrative of the Wars of the English in 
France, edited by Joseph Stevenson in the Rolls Series. 
The Chronicon Anglicce, edited by J. A. Giles, extends to 
1455, but is given to long digressions on papal afifairs. 

For the early part of the reign there are two London 
MSS., printed in Chronicles of London (edited by C. L. 
Kingsford) : Cottonian MSS., Julius B II, 1422 to 1432, 
which throws considerable light on the quarrels of Glou- 
cester and Beaufort, and Cottonian MS., Cleopatra C IV, 
1422 to 1443. Besides these there is the St. Albans 
Monastic Chronicle of Johannis Amundesham Annales 
Monasterii Sancti Alhani (Rolls Series), which is continued 
by an unknown writer up to 1440. 

The best chronicle from 1440 onwards is that of Gregory 
{Historical Collection of a Citizen of London, edited by James 
Gairdner), who was Mayor of London in 1451, and is 
therefore particularly useful for events in that city. His 
Gontinuator ably carries on the record to 1470. Other 
chronicles for the latter part of the reign are the Registrum 
Ahhaiice Johannis Whethamstede of St. Albans (Rolls 
Series), 1452 to 1461 ; the continuation of Ingulph's 
Chronicle of Croyland, 1459 onwards; a brief and very 
meagre Latin Chronicle, and some Brief Notes, both printed 
in the Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (edited by James 
Gairdner). 

For the French Wars, La Chronique de Monstrelet (edited 
by L. Douet dArcq) is especially valuable up to 1444, 
and continues beyond. The Chronique of Jean Le Fevre 
(to 1435), and Le Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris (to 1449, 
edited by Alex. Tuetey) give a good idea of the relations 
between England and France during those years. The 
works of Jehan de Waurin in the Rolls Series, and his 
Anchiennes Cronicques d' Engleterre, are good for French 
affairs from 1444 onwards, but are only reliable for English 
events when the author has obviously obtained his in- 
formation from Warwick the Kingmaker, with whom he 



396 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

had some acquaintance. The records of Jeanne d' Arc's 
trial have been collected and translated by T. Douglas 
Murray, and form an illuminating volume. For the 
expulsion of the English from Normandy (1448 to 1450), 
detailed and trustworthy narratives are provided by 
Robert Blondel's De Reductione Normannice and Berry the 
Herald's Becouvrement (RoHs Series). 

Letters of the reign are the invaluable Paston Letters, 
with introduction by James Gairdner ; Letters of the Kings 
of England, J. 0. Halliwell ; three series of Original Letters 
illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis; 
Letters of Margaret of Anjou and Bishop Bekington, edited 
by C. Munro; Correspondence of Bishop Bekington, Rolls 
Series. 

The Life of Henry VI in John Capgrave's Liber de 
illustrihus Henricis (Rolls Series) is too eulogistic to be of 
much use, but the biography by John Blakman (edited by 
Thos. Hearne), although full of pious praises, relates in- 
teresting anecdotes and gives a fair idea of the King's 
character. 

T. Wright's Political Poems and Songs provide ballads 
of the reign, particularly the " Libell of English Policy," 
which gives a good idea of the state of commercial affairs ; 
and a few more may be found in Archceologia, XXIX. 
Some idea of the manners and customs of the time may be 
gained from Manners and Meals (edited by Furnivall, 
E. E. Text Soc), much of which is written by an official 
of Gloucester's household. 

For events after the accession of Edward IV, and for the 
restoration of Henry VI, the best chronicles are the 
Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV (edited by J. Bruce), 
the excellent official Yorkist account of the events of 1471 ; 
and a Chronicle of the First Thirteen Years of the Reign of 
Edward IV, by John Warkworth, Master of Peterhouse, 
Cambridge (edited by J. 0. Halliwell) is written with a 
Lancastrian bias. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 397 

III, — Later Writers. 

An almost contemporary Chronicle, but probably com- 
piled after the death of Henry VI, is that of Fabyan. He 
is an attractive writer, of Lancastrian bias, and fairly 
sound on London affairs, but is not of great independent 
value. Hardyng wrote his Chronicle at the beginning of 
the reign of Edward IV. It is metrical and of little value, 
and is continued to a later date by Grafton, Polydore 
Vergil and Hall wrote their Chronicles in a later reign, 
but probably had communication with survivors from the 
reign of Henry VI. 

IV. — Modern Writers 
The best works by modern writers are Ramsay's Lan- 
caster and York, and the volume (1377 to 1485) in the 
Political History of England by C. Oman, Both of these 
give the fullest references and notes. Oman also con- 
tributes a brilliant sketch of Warwick the Kingmaker in the 
English Statesman Series. Other useful works are R. R. 
Sharpe, London and the Kingdom ; B. B. Orridge, Illustra- 
tions of Jack Cade's Rebellion ; G. Kriehn, The English 
Rising in l^SO ; L. Lallement, Marguerite d'Anjou- 
Lorraine ; L. B. Radford, Henry Beaufort ; D. Rowland, 
Historical and Genealogical Account of the Noble Family of 
Nevill ; A. Lang, History of Scotland ; R. S. Rait, Outline 
of the Relations between England and Scotland ; W, Cunning- 
ham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce, Vol. I; 
A, S. Green, Town Life in the Fifteenth Century ; W. 
Denton, England in the Fifteenth Century ; W. Stubbs, 
Constitutional History, Vol. Ill; Clowes, Roijal Navy; 
A. F. Leach, English Schools at the Reformation ; A. A. 
Leigh, King's College, Cambridge ; Sir Henry Maxwell Lyte, 
History of Eton College ; A. de Bourmont, La Fondation de 
Vuniversite de Caen ; Lavisse, Histoire de France ; Michelet, 
Histoire de France 



INDEX 



Aeergavenny, Edw. Neville, 
lord, 243, 298; Eliz. Neville, 
lady, 243 

Abingdon, 58, 60-2, 378, 381, 
383, 388 

Agriculture, 16-18, 58-60, 210 

Aiscough, Will., bp. of Salis- 
bury, see Salisbury. 

Albany, Murdoch, duke of, 29, 
186; Robert, duke of, 29 

Albert II, emperor, 135 

Albert III, elector of Saxony, 31 

Albizzi, Rinaldo degli, 34 

Alengon, 25 

Alen9on, duke of, 75-6, 162 

Alfonso V, king of Aragon, 34 

Alfriston, 202 n. 

Alien priories, 126 

Aliens, employment of, 209 

Almshoiises, 209, 221 

Alne, 384 

Alnwick, 148, 334, 339-41, 389 

Alresford, 382, 385 

Alton, 381-2, 385-6 

Amende-alle, John, see Cade, 
Jack. 

Amiens, 70 

Amurath II, 36 

Anchiennes Cronicques d'Engle- 
terre, 395 

Andover, 377, 386 

Andrew, Rich., 229 

Andrew, carrack, 135 

Angers, 79, 355 

Angus, earl of, 341-2 

Anjou, 138, 164, 166-8, 367 

Anjou, Chas. of, 161 ; Louis of, 
35 ; Marg. of, see Margaret 
(of Anjou), queen; Rene of, 
see Ren6 (of Anjou and 
Provence), king of Naples 



Anne (Neville), princess of Wales, 

366, 367 
Aragon, 34, 139 
Arc, Isabel d', 184; Jeanne d', 

see Jeanne d'Arc. 
Archers, 23, 171 
Architecture, 220 
Armagnac, count of, 135-6, 152, 

164-5 
Army, 23-4, 147; French, 161-2, 

170-2 
Arques, 175, 337 
Arras, 93 ; conference at, 106-7 
Artillery, 23, 171, 180, 344-5 
Artois, 25, 71 
Arimdel, 382, 386 
Arundel, earl of, 151 n., 321 
Arundell, John, 238 
Ashe, 384 
Asteley, Joan, 39 
Attleborough, 384 
Audley, lord, 276, 296, 298 
Avranches, 178 
Aylesbury, 377 

Bagshot, 378, 381-2, 384-6 
Bailleul, 158 

Bailly, , 197, 204 

Balinger, meaning of term, 134 n. 
Bamborough, 339-42, 344, 389 
Bambury, 361, 377-8 
Barham Downs, 57 
Barking, 383 
Barkway, 384-5 
Barnard Castle, 241 
Barnard's Heath, St. Albans, 321 
Barnet, 325, 376, 389; battle of, 

363-5 
Baronage, see Nobility. 
Basingstoke, 384 
Bath, 116, 366, 383-4 



399 



400 



INDEX 



Bath and Wells, Thos. Bekyng- 
ton, bp. of, 136, 396; John 
Stafford, bp. of, 62; Rob. 
Stillington, bp. of, 350 

Battle Abbey, 201 

Baudricourt, Rob. de, 86 

Baug6, battle of (1421), 30, 186 

Baverham, 385 

Bayeux, 177-8 

Baynard's Castle (London), -268, 
326, 328 

Bayonne, 180 

Beaconsfield, 381 

Beauchamp, Anne, see Warwick, 
Anne Neville.countess of ; Eliz. , 
see Abergavenny, Eliz. Neville, 
lady; Rich., earl of Warwick, 
see Warwick; Sir Walt., 11, 13 

Beaufort, Hen., cardinal (bp. of 
Winchester), badge, 150 n. ; 
cardinal's hat accepted, 46; 
character, 8-9 ; death, 147 ; 
embassy to France, 160; 
funds advanced for Henry's 
coronation, 102; Gloucester's 
accusations against, 44-6, 123 ; 
godfather to Henry VI, 2 ; 
Hussites and, 33, 46, 60 ; jewels 
appropriated by Gloucester, 
66; London gate attacked 
by men of, 42-3; Margaret 
of Anjou's marriage promoted, 
137, 142; nephews, 120; prae- 
munire accusations against, 
66 ; in Regency Council, 1 1 ; 
Somerset's appointment to 
Guienne command obtained, 
166; troops lent to Bedford, 
90-1 

Beaufort, Joan, 41 n. ; 242-3 ; 
Joan, queen of Scotland, see 
Joan; Marg., 166 n.; Thos., 
duke of Exeter, see Exeter. 

Beaug6, 160 

Beaugency, 79, 89 

Beaulieu (France), castle, 93 

Beaulieu Abbey (England), 365 

Beaumont, lord (d. 1460), 237-8, 
295,299-301; lord (d. 1461), 
333 

Beaurevoir, 93 



Beauvais, Cauchon, bp. of (bp, 
of Lisieux), 83 n., 93, 96-8, 
157, 184 

Bedford, John, duke of, badge, 
149 n. ; Caen university, 
founded, 130; character, 5-6, 
23; death, 67, 108; duel 
between Gloucester and Bur- 
gundy prevented, 73 ; France 
under, 23-8 ; French war 
under, 70, 74-108; Glouces- 
ter's plans in Holland de- 
feated, 49 ; godfather to Henry 
VI, 2 ; Henry's coronation in 
France desired, 60; Jeanne 
d'Arc described, 88; pope 
requested to confirm Glou- 
cester's marriage, 74; pro- 
tector of England, 10-11; 
queen Katherine escorted to 
France, 3 ; regent of France, 
4, 23-8; visits to England, 
43-6, 66-7, 104 

Bedford, Anne, duchess of, 70-1, 
103-4; Jacquette, duchess of, 
104; Geo. Neville (of North- 
umberland), duke of, 350, 
354-6 

Bedfordshire, 212 

Bekyngton, Thos., bp. of 
Bath and Wells, see Bath and 
Wells. 

Belleme, 176 

Bellinzona, 35 

Benedict XIII (Peter de Luna), 
pope, 32, 72 

Berkhampstead, 268, 376, 381, 
381 n., 388; castle, 47, 376 

Berland, Pey, archbp. of Bor- 
deaux, see Bordeaux. 

Bermondsey Abbey, 68-9 

Bermont, Hermitage of Blessed 
Mary of, 84 

Berners, lord, 363 

Berry the Herald, 396 

Berwick, 269, 334, 337, 340 

Beverley, 148, 385 

Bibliography, 394-7 

Bishop, John, 326 

Bishops Cannings, 383 

Bispham Abbey, 365 



INDEX 



401 



Black Death, 16-19 
Blackheath, 67, 198-200, 202, 

207, 229, 297, 376, 386-7 
Blakman, John, 396 
Blaye, 180 

Blew-berd, see Cheyne, Thos. 
Blois, 87-8 
Blondel, Rob., 396 
Blore Heath, battle of, 276-7, 

279, 284-5 
Blyth, 385 
Boarstall, 377 
Bohemia, 30-3, 35 
Bolingbroke, Rog., 124 
Bolton Hall (Sawley), 345-6 
Bonville, lord, 212, 227, 237, 

251 n., 261, 323 
Bonville, Sir Will., 131 
Bordeaux, 130, 160, 165, 179-82, 

338 
Bordeaux, Pey Berland, archbp. 

of, 130, 165 
Bordelais, 24 
Borwell, 384 
Bosnia, 30 
Botiller, Alice, 38-9 
Botley, 382 
Botyll, Rob., 151 n. 
Bouille, Will., 184 
Bourbon, duke of, 106, 162 
Bourchier, lord, earl of Essex, 

see Essex ; lady, 240 n. 
Bourchier, Edw., 283; Thos., 

bp. of Ely, archbp. of Canter- 
bury, see Canterbury; Will., 

304 
Bourges, 75, 92 ; king of, see 

Charles VII, king of France 
Boyes, John, 246 
Brabant, 73-4 

Brabant, duke of, 2, 42, 71-2 
Bracewell, 346 
Bramber, 386 
Brancepeth, 335 
Brandenburg, 31 
Brandon Ferry, 382, 384-5 
Brehal, Jean, 185 
Brentford, 377-8, 380, 382-6 
Brentwood, 377 
Bretigny, Peace of, 21 
Brez6, Pierre de, 161, 266, 339-42 
DD 



Brickhill, 376 

Brightling, 202 n. 

Bristol, Bristowe, 223, 247, 383-4 

Brittany, 173, 214 

Brittany, John, duke of, 70, 
77-8, 155, 166 

Brittany, Arth. of, comte de 
Richemont, see Richemont. 

Brown, Sir Thos., 304 

Buchan, earl of, 30, 76, 186 

Buckingham, duke of, ambas- 
sador to France, 150 n. ; 
badges, 150 n., 237; death 
at Northampton, 299--301; 
Gloucester arrested, 144; 
Kentish rebels punished, 207; 
prince of Wales presented to 
Henry VI, 233; recall de- 
manded, 194; relationship to 
Gloucester, 150 n.; at St. 
Albans, 251, 254, 256; at 
Shrewsbury, 266; submission 
to York, 258; Yorkist con- 
nections and sympathies, 243, 
264-5 

Buckingham, duchess of, 232, 
243, 284, 325, 350 n. 

Bungerley Hyppingstons, 347, 
389 

Bmitingford, 382, 384-5 

Bureau, Gaspard, 171; Jean, 
171, 180-1 

Burford-on-the-Wold, 326 

Burgimdy, Phil., duke of, in 
alliance with England, 24-5, 
70, 82, 92-3, 103-4; Brittany 
supported, 173; Calais be- 
sieged, 157-8; description of 
Jeanne d'Arc in letter to, 
99-100; Flanders closed to 
English cloth-trade, 193; 
Hainault and Holland 
schemes, 42, 71-4; Jeanne 
d'Arc surrendered, 93; Mar- 
garet of Anjou's appeal to, 
342; Orleans (duke of) wel- 
comed, 163; peace with Eng- 
land desired, 166; reconcilia 
tion with French king, 105-8, 
155; regency of France sug- 
gested for, 4; Scottish con^ 



402 



INDEX 



uection, 188, 335; Yorkists' 
relations with, 335, 350 

Burgundy, Charles the Bold, 
duke of, 350, 357, 359; Jean 
Sans Peur, duke of, 24, 
71, 107; Margaret of York, 
duchess of, 307, 319 n., 350 

Burgundy, Anne of, duchess of 
Bedford, see Bedford; Marg. 
of, countess of Richemont, see 
Richemont. 

Burning of Heretics, see Heretics, 
burning of. 

Bury St. Edmunds, 143, 382, 
384^5; abbot, 139 

Butler, Jas., earl of Wiltshire 
and Ormond, see Ormond. 

Bydon, Dr., 347 

Bywell Castle, 345, 389 

Cade, Jack, 191-2, 194, 196-9, 
202-7 

Cade's Rebellion, 190-207, 221 

Caen, 130, 176-8 

Caerphilly Castle, 241 n. 

Caistor Castle, 291 

Calais, 56, 92, 105, 156-8, 160, 
179, 214, 219, 248, 258, 265-6, 
278, 281, 284-5, 287-8, 292-4, 
296, 305, 339, 352, 355, 376; 
naval battle (1458), 270 

Calixtus III, pope, 185 

Camberwell, 384 

Cambridge, 379, 382, 384-5; 
King's coll., 115, 128-9, 147; 
Queen's coll. (coll. of St. 
Marg. and St. Bern.), 148 

Cambridge, Rich., earl of, duke 
of York, «ee York. 

Canterbury, 190, 195, 207, 226, 
296, 376, 378, 380, 382-8 

Canterbury, Thos. Bourchier, 
archbp. of (bp. of Ely), 229, 
238-40, 249, 251, 253, 258, 
264, 295-6, 298-9, 308, 324, 
328, 363; Hen. Chicheley, 
archbp. of, 2, 11-12, 43-4, 
129; John Kemp, archbp. of, 
see Kemp, John, cardinal. 

Cantlowe, Will., 346 

Cardiff Castle, 241 n. 



Carlisle, 335, 339 

Carrack, 135 

Castile, 33 

Castillon, 181 

Castle, inn (St. Albans), 256 

Castlecombe, 384 

Castleford, 330 

Castleton, 231, 265 

Catherine, see Katherine. 

Cauchon, bp. of Beauvais, sec 
Beauvais. 

Caudebec, 175 

Cerne Abbey, 365 

Chalfont, 381 

Chalons, 89 

Chamberlayn, Sir Rog., 206 

Champagne, 24, 75, 91, 164 

Channel Islands, 247 

Charles IV, king of France, 21 

Charles VI, king of France, 1, 3, 
26-7, 110 

Charles VII, king of France, 
accession, 27 ; alliance with 
Burgundy, 155; army re- 
organised, 161-2, 170; Brit- 
tany supported, 173; Bur- 
gundy reconciled with, 107 ; 
campaign of 1424, 75-6; 
coronations, 27, 50, 89; 
daughter's marriage with 
Henry VI suggested, 135; 
ecorcheurs put down, 164; 
emperor's peace with, 106; 
Gascony and Guienne ex- 
peditions (1438, 1442-3), 160, 
164-5 ; influence of Richemont 
and La Tr^mouille over, 77-9, 
91, 105; Jeanne d'Arc and, 
86-7, 89, 183-4; Normandy 
recovered, 173-6; poverty of, 
78; Rene of Anjou supported, 
138, 167; Scottish king's wife 
chosen by, 188; triumphal 
entry into Paris, 159 

Charles III, king of Naples, 35 

Charles of Valois, French prince 
21 

Charolais, Charles, count of, duke 
of Burgundy, see Burgundy. 

Chartres, 79, 103 

Chateau Gaillard, 56, 176 



INDEX 



403 



Chateauneuf, 79 

Chatham, 196 

Chelmsford, 377 

Cheltenham, 366 

Chequer, inn (St. Albans), 255 

Cherbourg, 176, 178 

Chertsey, 376, 386; abbey, 370 

Cheshire, 343 

Cheshunt, 382 

Chester, 265, 344, 388 

Chester, bp. of, 238-9 

Chesterfield, 355 

Chew, 384 

Cheyne, Cheyney, Sir John, 195; 
Thos., 190-1 

Chieheley, Hen., archbp. of Can- 
terbury, see Canterbury. 

Chichester, 382, 386 

Chichester, Adam Moleyns,bp.of, 
149, 151, 166, 176, 201; Regi- 
nald Pecock, bp. of, 212, 267 

Chiddingfold, 382 

Chinon, 86, 338 

Chipping Norton, see Norton, 
Chipping. 

Chirk, castle and lordship of, 
120 

Chiswick, 379-80, 380 n. 

Chivalry, 216 

Christchurch Castle, 243 

Chronicle of Cray land, 395 

Chronicle of the First Thirteen 
Years of the Reign of Edward 
/F, 396 

Chronicon Anglicce, 395 

Chronique de Monstrelet, La, 395 

Chronique of Jean Le Fevre, 395 

Church of England, see England, 
Church of. 

Cinque Ports, barons of, 193 

Cirencester, 366, 384 

Clapham, 380-1, 384 

Clarence, Geo., duke of, 169, 
307, 318, 350, 352-7, 359-61, 
367 ; Isabel (Neville), duchess 
of, 350, 352-3; Lionel, duke 
of, 11, 14; Thos., duke of 
(d. 1421), 30 

Clarendon, 232, 377, 384, 387 

Clerkenwell, hosp. of St. John, 
see London, St. John's Priory. 

dd2 



Clerkenwell Fields (London), 

328 
Clermont, comte de, 177, 180 
Cletherwood, Clitherwood, 347, 

389 
Cleton, Will., 245 
Cliffe-by-Lewes, 202 n. 
Clifford, lord (d. 1455), 164, 237, 

251, 255-7; lord (d. 1461), 

268, 313, 316, 323, 330-1 
Clinton, lord, 251, 283, 298 
Clitherwood, see Cletherwood. 
Cloth industry, 18-19, 122, 193, 

218-20 
Clyer, John, 304 
Cobham, 384 

Cobham, lord, 228, 296, 298 
Cobham, Eleanor, duchess of 

Gloucester, see Gloucester. 
Cock, stream, 331, 333 
Cockermouth, 334 
Cognac, 173 
Coimbra, duke of, 43 
Cokke John, ship, 140 
Colchester, 191 
Cold Harbour (Blackfriars), 268, 

305 
Coleshill, 276, 278 
Colnbrook, 376-7, 380-4, 386 
Colonna, Oddo, cardinal, see 

Martin V, pope. 
Combe, John, 304 
Commorthees (Wales), 131-2 
CompiegnO; 56, 91-2 
Constance, Council of, 30 
Constantinople, 36, 183 
Conyers, Sir John, 283, 352; 

Sir Will., 352, 354 
Cooke, Thos., 198 
Copped Hall, Coptfold Hall, 

376, 379 
Coppini, cardinal, 294, 296, 298, 

310 
Corbeil, 156 
Corn, 210 
Cornwall, 266 
Cornwall, duchy of, 122, 131, 

133 
Corvumber, Coroumbe (Yorks.), 

334, 389 
County Sessions, 193 



404 



INDEX 



Courtenay, John, Earl of Devon, 

see Devon; Sir Phil., 134; 

Thos., earl of Devon, see 

Devon. 
Coutances, bp. of, 185 
Coventry, 60, 228, 264, 2C5 n., 

276, 282, 298-9, 361-2, 367, 

387-8 
Crackenthorp, 345, 389 
Craft Gilds, see Gilds, Craft 
Crespy, 92 
Crevant, 75, 188 
Cromwell, lord, 11, 231, 259 
Crotoy, 74, 93 
Crowmer, Eliz., 206 n. ; , 

200, 203, 206, 206 n. 
CroAvn lands, 122, 192, 194, 227 
Croydon, 386 
Croyland Abbey, 291 n. 
Culham, 381 
Customs, 122 

Dacre, lord, 313, 333 

Dallington, 202 n. 

Dalmatia, 30 

Daniel, Thos., 150 n., 200, 227 

Darlington, 384-5 

Dartford, 229, 296, 377-8, 380, 
382-4, 386 

Dartmouth, 293, 355 

Daventry, 354 

Day of Herrings, 82, 188 

Delapr6 Abbey, 299 

Delaware, lord, 303 

Denbigh, 351 

Denmark, 33, 106 

Deptford, 57, 376 

De Reductione Normanniae, 396 

Dereham, 384-5 

Desmond, earl of, 286 

Devils Water, 344 

Devon, John Courtenay, earl of, 
365, 367; Thos. Courtenay, 
earl of (d. 1458), 131, 151 n., 
212, 225, 227-8, 247, 249, 251, 
261 ; Thos. Covirtenay, earl of 
(d. 1461), 313, 333 

Dieppe, 156, 164-5, 337 

Dinas, Castle, 241 n. 

Dintingdale, 330-1 

Dogmersfield, 377, 379-80, 380 n. 



Domremy, 83-4, 85 n., 96, 185 

Doncaster, 345, 355, 384 

Dorchester, 383 

Dorset, rising, 1450, see Cade's 
rebellion. 

Dorset, Edm. Beaufort, earl of, 
duke of Somerset, see Somer- 
set; Hen. Beaufort, earl of, 
duke of Somerset, see Somer- 
set. 

Douglas, earl of (d. 1424), 30, 
75-6; earl of (1460), 189, 336, 
339; countess of, 76 n. 

Douglas, Archibald, 186 

Douglases, border warfare of, 
148 

Dover, 57, 153, 376, 386 

Dover, Court of, 193 

Dover, Straits of, 214 

Drapers Co., 220 

Drapier, Perrin le, 84 

Dviblin, 169 

Dudley, lord, 200, 226, 238, 251, 
258, 277 

Dumfries, 148, 339 

Dunbar, 148 

Dunfermline, 336 

Dunois, comte de, bastard of 
Orleans, 78, 80, 82, 85, 87, 
89-90, 161, 180, 185 

Dunstable, 320-1, 326, 376, 
387, 389 

Dunstanburgh, 340 

Durham, 148, 333, 340-1, 384-5 

Durham, Laur. Booth, bp. of, 
339; Thos. Langley, bp. of, 
52; Rob. Neville, bp. of (bp. 
of Salisbury), 50, 231, 243 

Dynham, Sir John, 280, 283, 
287-8, 294 

Earl Marshal, John Mowbray, 
duke of Norfolk, see Norfolk. 

East Angha, rising 1450, see 
Cade's Rebellion. 

Easthampstead, 376-80, 380 n., 
381 

Eccleshall, 265, 276-7, 304, 388 

Ecorcheurs, 164, 170 

Edgcott, battle of (1469), 354 

Edgware, 376 



INDEX 



405 



Edinburgh, 335. 389 

Edmonton, 384 

Education, 126-30, 211, 220-1 

Edward III, claims to France, 21 

Edward IV (earl of March), 
accession, 325-8 ; attainder, 
283; campaigns of 14G0, 1461, 
314, 319, 330-1; capture 
(1469), 354; coronation, 335; 
declared a traitor (1470), 359; 
exile (1470-1), 357; flight 
(1459, 1470), 280, 357; French 
crown claimed, 351 ; illness 
(1462), 340-1 ; letter of, 245-G ; 
in London after Tewkesbury, 
368-9; marriage, 169, 348- 
50; at Northampton battle, 
300-2; rebellion against 
(1469), 352—4; reconciliation 
with Warwick, 354 ; recovery 
of the throne (1471), 359-68; 
return to England (1460), 
296; Warwick's quarrel with, 
348, 351-2, 354 

Edward V, 357 

Edward, prince of Wales, badges 
distribvited, 275; at battle of 
St. Albans (2nd), 323-4; 
birth, 232-3, 247; created 
prince of Wales, 238 ; crown 
entailed on, 359; death, 367; 
disinherited, 311-12; flight 
(1460, 1461), 304, 333-4; in 
Lorraine, 342 ; marriage, 336, 
355-6; oath of allegiance to, 
284; in Scotland, 313 

Edward of Foivey, ship, 135 

Edyngdonn, 201 

Egreniont, Sir Thos. Percy, lord, 
231, 237, 245, 265, 268-9, 
299-301 

Elizabeth (Woodville), queen, 
104 n., 349, 357, 363 

Elizabeth (of York), princess, 354 

EUerton, , 347 

Elmley Castle, 241 

Eltham, 44, 307, 375-8, 380-7 

Ely, 385 

Ely, Isle of, 326 

Ely, Thos. Bourchier, bp. of 
(archbp. of Canterbury), see 



Canterbury ; Will. Grey, bp. of, 
297-8, 328, 357 

Enclosures, 18 

England, Church of, 58-61, 
129, 210-12, 295 

English Chronicle, 394 

Erber, see Cold Harbour (Black- 
friars), 268 

Eric (of Pomerania), king of 
Scandinavia, 33 

Essay, 174 

Essendine, 384-5 

Essex, rising in, 1450, see Cade's 
Rebellion. 

Essex, earl of (lord Bourchier), 
151 w., 238, 240 n., 258, 264, 
298, 304, 321, 339, 363 

Eton Coll., 115, 125-7, 129, 147, 
384 

Eu, count of, 160 

Eugenius IV, pope, 118 

Evictments, 193 

Ewelme, 383-4 

Ewyas Lacy Castle, 241 n. 

Exeter, 261, 366 

Exeter, Bastard of, 316, 333 

Exeter, Geo. Neville, bp. of 
(archbp. of York), 243, 278, 
297-8, 304, 321, 324, 328-9, 
350, 352-4, 359, 362-3, 365 

Exeter, Thos. Beaufort, duke 
of, 4, An., 5, 8, 11, 13, 37, 46; 
Hen. Holand, duke of, 151 n., 
194, 237, 245, 266, 269, 292-3, 
312-13, 333, 337, 342; John 
Holand, duke of, 149 n. 

Fabyan, chronicle, 397 

Faceby, John, 238 

Fairs, 20 

Falaise, 178 

Fanhope, , 212 

Faringdon, 377, 383 

Farley, 383 

Farnham, 381-2, 385-6 

Fastolf, Sir John, 82, 156, 228, 
291 n. 

Fauconberg, Will. Neville, lord 
(earl of Kent), 150 «., 238, 
243, 278, 281, 293, 290, 298, 
300, 305, 328, 331, 340, 352 



406 



INDEX 



Fauconberg, bastard of, see 
Neville, Thos. 

Favershani, 207 

Fecamp, 156 

Ferrers (of Chartley), lord, 328 

Ferrybridge, 330 

Ferryhill, 384-5 

Feversham, 383 

Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of 
Milan, 34 

Fitz Hugh, lord, 2, 5, 11-12, 
352, 356 

Fitzwalter, lord, 328, 330 

Flanders and Flemings, 24—5, 
105, 157-8, 193, 219 

Fleming, Rich., bp. of Lincoln, 
see Lincoln. 

Florence, 34, 214 

Flushing, 359 

Folkestone, 195 

Fowler, ship, 135 

Ford, 388 

Forteseue, Sir John, 336 

Formigny, 177, 191, 194 

Fotheringay, 223 

Fougeres, 173 

Fowey, 266 

Framlingham, 200 

Franc-archers, 171 

France, army, 161-2, 170-2; 
Bedford's regency, 4-6, 23-8 ; 
Edward IV's negotiations 
with, 348-50; Enghsh claims 
to, 20-22, 351; English pos- 
sessions (1422), 24-5; Lan- 
castrian appeal to (1461-2), 
337-9 ; universities founded 
by the English, 130; war 
with, 22-8, 66-7, 70, 74-108, 
123, 149, 155-83, 193 

Frederick (of Meissen), elector 

of Saxony, 31 
Fresnay, 176 
Fronsac, 180-1 
Fulbrook, Lodge at, 377-8 
Fulford, Sir Bald., 325-6 
Fulham, 378, 380, 382 
Fysshwick, 223 

Odbriel of Harfleur, balinger, 1 35 
Galley, ship, 135 



Gascony, 106-7, 160, 164-5 

Gaucourt, Raoul de, 80, 85 

Gavelkind, 195 

Genoa, 271 

George, ship, 134 

Geraldines, The, 280 

Gerberoz, 173 

Germany, 31 

Ghent, 74 

Gien, 91 

Gilds, Craft, 19, 218, 220 

Glastonbury, 366, 384 

Gloucester, 207, 366; abbot of, 
226 

Gloucester, Eleanor (Cobham), 
duchess of, 49-50, 74, 95 n., 
123-5; Jacqueline (of Hain- 
ault), duchess of, 2, 42, 50, 
71-4; Rich., duke of (Richard 
III), see Richard III 

Gloucester, Humph., duke of, 
authority conferred on, 4-5, 
10-11, badge, 149 n. ; Beau- 
fort ; disputes with, 42-5, 66, 
123; captain of Calais, 156, 
- 158; character, 6-8; enmity 
against Edmund of March, 40 ; 
fall and death, 142-6, 165, 
201; French policy, 67, 104, 
108, 123, 136, 158, 161; 
Henry VI 's personal attitude 
to, 119-20 ; Holland and Hain- 
ault claims, 2, 42, 49, 71-4; 
influence destroyed by Eleanor 
Cobham, 123—5; Kemp at- 
tacked, 123 ; Orleans' release 
opposed, 163; parliamentary 
exoneration of, 260; popu- 
larity, 146; protectorship re- 
signed, 55; queen Katherine 
persecuted, 68 ; Sharp's move- 
ment repressed, 59, 61-2; 
York's lands in custody of, 40 
Godfrey, Thos., 203 
Golden Rose, 118 
Good Rest Lodge, 378 
Gough, Matth., 89, 156, 168, 

176-8, 204 
Grace Dieu, ship, 134, 288, 292 
Grafton, chronicler, 397 
Grantham, 320, 384-5 



INDEX 



407 



Gravesend, 382-3, 385-6 

Green wax, writs of, 193 

Greenwich, 200, 226, 262, 307, 
382-8 

Gregory , chronicler, 395 

Grey, EUz., lady, see Elizabeth 
(Woodville), queen ; Sir John, 
349; Sir Ralph, 340-1, 344-5; 
Will., bp. of Ely, see Ely; 
,212 

Grey de Ruthyn, lord, 299-300 

Greystock, lord, 313 

Grisnez, Cape, 285, 287 

Gueldres, Mary of, see Mary 
(of Gueldres), queen of Scot- 
land 

Guernsey, 281 

Guienne, 106-7, 152, 160, 164-6, 
172-3, 179-82, 193, 225, 235-6 

Guildford, 378, 382, 386 

Hackney, 385 

Hainault, 71-3 

Hall, chronicler, 397 

Hals, John, 62 

Hampshire, 228 

Hans, painter, 136 

Hansards and Hanseatic League, 
19, 33, 214, 219, 271 

Hanworth, 377 

Harborough, Market, 376, 387-8 

Hardingstone Field (Northamp- 
ton), 388 

Hardyng, chronicler, 397 

Harfleur. 3, 156, 176 

Harlech Castle, 304, 336, 347, 
351 

Harrington, lord, 316 

Harrington, Sir Jas., 346-7; Sir 
Thos., 283, 316 

" Hart " (Southwark), 202, 206 

Hartford Bridge, 384 

Harw, 384 

Hastings, lord, 226, 357 

Hatclj'ff, Will., 238 

Hatfield, 382 

Havant, 382 

Havering atte Bower, 69, 377, 
379-80, 383 

Healaugh Hall, 384 n. 

Heathfield, 206 



Hedgeley Moor, battle of (1464), 
344 

Hedwig, queen of Poland, 35 

Henley, 377, 381 

Henry IV, 13, 29, 45, 224, 310 

Henry V, 1-4, 20-2, 26, 28, 54, 
126, 162, 167 

Henry VI, accession, 3; army 
led into England (1461), 
335; attainder, 337; attempt 
against by witchcraft alleged, 
124; at Bamborough (1463), 
341-2; birth, 1; Burgundy's 
letter to, 108; burial, 370; 
Cade's rebellion inadequately 
met, 198-200; in campaign 
of 1459, 276, 278-80 ; captured 
by Yorkists (1471), 362-3; 
Cardinal Beaufort's legacy re- 
fused, 147 ; character, 109- 
20, 216; childhood, 37-9, 41- 
2, 46-7 ; christening 2 ; corona- 
tions, 51-6, 92, 101-3; death, 
368-9; declared of age, 69; 
deposition, 326-9 ; educational 
foundations, 125-30; flight 
after Towton, 333-5; forces 
raised 1460, 298; French 
throne acquired, 27; Glouces- 
ter persuades the rejection of 
French terms (1439), 161; 
heirship to (1450), 224; ill- 
ness, 232, 238-40, 247-8, 
261-2; imprisonment, 365; 
itinerary, 375-89 ; Jeanne 
d'Arc and, 93-4, 100 ; knighted 
45; marriage, 135-42, 164-7, 
381 n.; at Northampton bat- 
tle, 299-302; Northern rising 
for (1464), 344—5; pecuniary 
difficulties, 121-2, 133, 148-9, 
172, 226-7, 295; personal 
appearance, 118—9; present 
to abbot of St. Albans, 273-4; 
progresses, 148, 227-30, 264, 
see also above itinerary; pro- 
phecy concerning, 2 ; recon- 
ciliation of Yorkists and Lan- 
castrians attempted (1458), 
267-9 ; remains examined 
(1910), 369-70; restoration 



408 



INDEX 



(1470), 356-8; resumption of 
Crown lands, 194; at St. 
Albans battles, 253-7, 321-4; 
in Scotland, 335-6, 342-3; 
son born to, 232—3 ; wander- 
ings and capture (1464-5), 
345—8; Warwick's education 
of, 47-9, 62-6; York's inter- 
view with (1450), 222 

Henry VII, 118, 128, 166 n. 

Henry the Navigator, Portu- 
guese prince, 34 

Herbert, lord, 351, 354 

Hereford, 266 

Heretics, burning of, 51, 95 n., 
211 

Hertford, 258, 261, 376, 380, 
382, 386-7 ; castle, 38, 47, 375 

Hertford Bridge, 379 

Hexham, battle of, 344 

Heyle, 384 

Hilberworth, 382, 385 

Hillingdon, 380-1 

Hilyard, Rob., 352-3 

Historic of the Arrivall of Edward 
IV, 396 

Hody, Sir Alex., 325 

Holand, Hen. and John, dukes of 
Exeter, see Exeter. 

Holderness, 353, 360 

Holderness, Robin of, 352-3 

Holland, 71-2, 74 

Holstein, 33 

Holybank Ford, 341 

Holybourne, 385 

Holy Ghost, ship, 135 

Holy Island, 340 

Holywell Hill (St. Albans), 255 

Honfleur, 175-6, 355-6, 365 

Hoo, SirThos., 222, 226 

Home, Rob., 202 

Hospitals, 209, 221 

Howard, lord, 361 

Hull, 314 

Hundred Years' War, see France, 
war with. 

Hungerford, 383 

Hungerford, lord, 156, 290, 297, 
337 339 344 

Himgerford, Sir Walt., 5, 11, 13 

Hunsdon, 259 



Huntingdon, 320, 384-5 
Huntingdon, John, earl of, 160 
Hus, John, 31-2 
Hussites, 31-3, 46, 90 

Iden, Alex., 206; Eliz., 206 n. 
ile de France, 24, 91-2, 107, 164 
Industry, see Trade and Industry. 
Ingatestone, 377 

Inglefield, , 120 

Ipswich, 152 

Ireland, 45, 214, 286, 359 

Isabella (of France), queen of 

England, wife of Edward II, 

21 
Isabella (of York), lady Bour- 

chier, see Bourchier, lady 
Islington, 389 
Islip, 381, 383 
Italy, 34, 106 
Ivry, 75 

Jackanapes, nickname, 153 

Jacqueline of Hainault, duchess 
of Gloucester, see Gloucester. 

Jagello of Lithuania, see Ladislas 
king of Poland. 

James I, king of Scotland, 28-9, 
38, 186-8 

James II, king of Scotland, 
188-9, 263, 305 

James III, king of Scotland, 
313, 336 

Jargeau, 79, 89 

Jean sans Peur, duke of Bur- 
gundy, see Burgundy. 

Jeanne d'Arc, 48-50, 56, 77, 83- 
101, 183-6, 188, 396 

Jernyngan, John, 270 

Joan (of Navarre), queen of 
England, 69 

Joan (Beaufort), queen of Scot- 
land, 186-7 

Joan, daughter of Louis X, 
French princess, 21 

Joan, daughter of Philip V 
French princess, 21 

Joanna I, queen of Naples, 35 

Joanna II, queen of Naples, 34 

Johannis Amundesham Annales 
Monasterii Sancti Albani, 395 



INDEX 



409 



John II, king of Castile, 33 
John, king of France, 21 
John, king of Portugal, 34, 43 n. 
John, ship, 135 
Josep, Will., 259 
Jourdain, Margery, 124 
Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris, 

395 
Justice, admin, of, 193-4, 295 

Kalmar, Union of (1397), 33 
Katherine, Catherine (of Lan- 
caster), queen of Castile, 33 
Katherine (of Valois), queen of 

England, 1-4, 22, 37, 46-7, 

68-9, 126 
Katherine of Burtons, ship, 134 
Kemer, Gilb., dean of Salisbury, 

see Salisbury. 
Kemp, John, cardinal (archbp. of 

York, archbp. of Canterbury), 

50, 106, 120, 123, 129, 132, 

205, 207, 225, 232, 237, 241, 

248 
Kempton Park, manor at, 377 n. 
Kendal, earl of, 303 
Kenilworth, 200, 264-5, 375, 

377, 387-8 ; castle, 378 
Kennedy, bp., 336, 342-3 
Kennington, 38, 41, 375-8, 

380 
Kent, 222, 226, 228-9, 266, 293, 

368; rising, 1450, see Cade's 

rebellion. 
Kent, Will., Lord Fauconberg, 

earl of, see Fauconberg. 
Keterige, John, 62 
Kettlethorp, 385 
Key, Cross Keys, inn (St. 

Albans), 255 
Key Field (St. Albans), 253 
Keynsham, 383 
Kiddecaws, 140 
Kildare, earl of, 286 
Kingsclere, 377 
Kingston, 38, 375, 377, 381-2, 

385-6 
Kirkcudbright, 336, 338, 389 
Knights of the shires, 192 
Kymer, Gilb., dean of Salisbury, 

see Salisbviry. 



Kyriel, Sir Thos., 156, 176-7, 

191, 323-4 
Kyrton, 261 

Labourers, 16-18, 58-60, 210 
Labourers, statute of, 17, 194 
La Charite, 92 
Ladislas, king of Naples, 35 
Ladislas, king of Poland, 35 
La Hire, see Vignolles, Etienne 

de. 

Lailler, , 157 

Lancashire, 343, 345 
Lancaster, duchy of, 122, 133, 

258 
Lancaster, John of Gaunt, duke 

of, 8, 14, 33-4 
Landes, 24 
Langley, 375, 380 
Langley, King's (Chiltern Lang- 
ley), 69, 377, 380-1, 381 n. 
Langley in Wliichewood, 381 
Latimer, Geo. Neville, lord, 121, 

243, 313, 352, 354 
Latin Chronicle., 395 
La Tremouille, , 77, 91, 

105, 183 
Laxart, Durand, 85 
Lechlade, 383-4 
Leeds, Castle, 377 
Leicester, 44-5, 154, 190, 228, 

249, 251, 264, 274, 360-1, 

375-7, 386-8 
Lemans, 168 
Leominster, 388 
Letters of Margaret of Anjou and 

Bishop Bekington, 396 
Letters of the Kings of England, 

396 
Levant, 34 
Lewes, 201, 386 
Libourne, 180 
Lichfield, 264 
Ligny, countess of, 93 
Lillebonne, 175 
Lincluden Abbey, 313 
Lincoln, 385 
Lincoln, Rich. Fleming, bp. of, 

129 
Lincolnshire, 355 
Linhills, 344 



410 



INDEX 



Linlithgow Castle, 389 

Lisieux, 174 

Lisieux, Cauchon, bp. of (bp. 
of Beauvais), see Beauvais. 

Lisle, , 222 

Litham, 382, 384-5 

Lithuania, 35 

Little John, barge, 135 

Livery and maintenance, 213 

Llantrussant Castle, 241 n. 

Loches, 89 

Lollards, 68-61, 114, 211-12, 
267 

London, alarm after second 
battle of St. Albans, 324-5; 
attack by Lancastrians (1471), 
368 ; Baynard's Castle, see 
Baynard's Castle ; Beaufort, 
cardinal, in dispute with, 42-4 ; 
bishop's palace, 387-9 ; Black 
Death in, 19; Blackfriars, 
268, 386; Cade's rebellion, 
198-9, 202-5; Cripplegate, 
113; Drapers Company, 220; 
Edw.IV acknowledged, 326-9 ; 
Eleanor Cobham's penitential 
walk, 124; Fleet Street dis- 
turbances, 133; Flemish mer- 
chants plundered, 108; Grey- 
friars, 268; Henry V's burial, 
4 ; Henry VI's visits, 57, 347-8, 
375, 381, 386-8 ; King's Bench 
Prison, 205; Lancastrian re- 
storation (1470), 357-8; Mar- 
shalsea Prison, 205; riots 
(1456), 263; St. Anthony's 
school, 129; St. John's Priory 
(Clerkenwell), 151 n., 238, 248, 
298, 377, 386; St. Mary 
Overy, 187, 387; St. Pauls, 
378, 388; severities of Lan- 
castrians (1460), 291; Sharp's 
bills distributed in, 60; Suf- 
folk's house attacked, 152; 
Tower, 381, 384-5, 389; Ward- 
robe in, 380; White Friars, 
269 ; Yorkists admitted (1460, 
1461, 1471), 297-8, 302-3, 
326-9, 362-3; see also West- 
minster. 

London, bp. of, 11, 387-9 



London Stone, 203 

Longe, John, 62 

Lorraine, 367 

Loughborough, 376-7 

Louis X, king of France, 21 

Louis XI, king of France 

(dauphin), 162, 188, 337-9, 

342, 348-9, 351, 355, 367 
Louis of Anjou, see Anjou. 
Lovedeyne, Harry, 246 

Lovelace, , 322 

Lovell, lord, 303 

Lucy, Sir Will., 300 

Ludford, 279-80 

Ludlow, 228, 275, 277-81, 388 

Luna, Alvaro de, 33 ; Peter de, 

see Benedict XIII, pope. 
Luton, 385 
Luxemberg, Jacquette of, see 

Bedford, Jacquette, duchess 

of; Jean de, 93; Louis de, 

157 
Lyndwood, Will., 106 
Lynn, 357, 361; Augustinian 

Friary, 382 
Lynwood, Will., 278 
Lyons, Hankyne, 214 

Madeira, 34 

Mahomet I, Turkish ruler, 36 
Maidenhead, 377, 383 
Maidenhithe, 383, 386 
Maidstone, 191, 196, 377, 382-3, 

383 n., 384, 386 
Maine, 76, 78, 103, 107, 138, 143, 

147, 152, 160-1, 166-8, 180 
Maine, count of, 176 
Majorca, 139 
Mailing, 383 
Mahnesbury, 366, 383-4 
Malpas, 304 
Malpas, Phil., 202, 204 
Mandeville, Will., see Sharp, 

Jack. 
Mangeleke, barge, 134 
Manners and Meals, 396 
Manning, dr., 347 
Manorial system, 16, 20 
Mantes, 174 
Manuel Palaeologus, Eastern 

emperor, 36 



INDEX 



411 



March, Edm. Mortimer, earl of 
(son-in-law of Lionel duke of 
Clarence), 11, 14; Edm. Morti- 
mer, earl of (d. 1425), 11-12, 
21, 40, 196; Philippa Mortimer 
(of Clarence), countess of, 11, 
14, 21; Edw. Plantagenet, 
earl of, see Edward IV. 
Marchall, John, 238 

Margaret (of Anjou), queen of 
England, Blore Heath battle 
watched, 277; campaign 
1460-1, 317, 320-6; coast 
attacks by French connected 
with, 266 ; college founded, 
148; coiuicils smnmoned, 249, 
264; at Coventry (1460), 298- 
9; disinlieritance of her son 
resisted, 312—13; dismissal of 
Warwick attempted, 271 ; fear 
inspired by, 279; flight (1460, 
1461), 304, 333-4; folio pre- 
sented to, 119 ; forces gathered 
(1459), 274-6; French aid 
invoked, 337-9 ; Gloucester's 
estates given to, 146; Henry 
VI's deposition imputed to, 
327 ; imprisonment and ran- 
som, 367 ; invasions of Eng- 
land (1462-3), 339-42; Irish 
incited against York, 286; 
letters, 396; marriage, 136- 
42, 166-7; persuades Henry 
VI to remain at Blackheath, 
199; portraits, 119; prepara- 
tions against York ( 1456), 262 ; 
regency demanded, 236; re- 
turn to England (1471), 359, 
365-6; in Scotland, 335-8; 
son born, 232-4; at Tewkes- 
bury battle, 366-7; virtual 
ruler of England, 148; War- 
wick reconciled with, 355-6 

Margaret (of York), daughter of 
duke Richard, see Burgundy, 
Marg., duchess of. 

Marie, barge, 134 

Marie of Hampton, carrack, 135 

Marie of Hull, carrack, 135 

Marie of Sandwich, carrack, 135 

Marlborough, 377, 383 



Mario w, 381 

Martin V (Oddo Colonna), pope, 

32, 72-4 
Mary (of Gueldres), queen of 

Scotland, 188, 313, 335, 339, 

342 
Maud's Castle, 241 n. 
Mavyle, 386 
Maychell, John, 345 
Meaux, 1, 162 
Meaux, bp. of, 157 
Medici, Giovanni de, 34 
Melbourne, 320 
Meon Stoke, 381, 386 
Meon, West, 386 
Merchant Adventurers, 219 
Merchant Companies, 19, 219-20 
Merton, 376, 384-5 
Metz, Jean de, 86 
Meugette, 83 
Meung, 79, 89 

Middleham Castle, 242, 344, 351 
Midhurst, 382 
Mighel-en-Barrois, 342 
Milan, 34-5 
Mildenhall, 382, 384 
Mile End, 202-3 
Milewatier, John, 245 
Millington, Will., 129 
Milton, 202 n. 
Minorca, 139 
Moleyns,Adam,bp. of Chichester, 

see Chichester. 
Monasteries, 126, 209-11 
Money, 217 

Money-lending, 214, 217 
Mens, 73-4 
Montagu, John Neville, lord 

(earl of Northumberland), 

226, 231, 243, 265-6, 277, 284, 

304, 321, 324, 335, 340-1, 344, 

350n., 352-3, 356-7,360-2,365 
Montargis, battle of, 78 
Montereau, 159 
Montevilliers, 175 
Montfort, 76 
Moravia, Jobst of, 30 
Mortain, 168 
Mortimer, Anne, 40; Edm., 

earl of March, see March ; 

(Sir) John, 39, 196-8, 205-6 



412 



INDEX 



Mortimer's Cross, battle of, 319 
Mortlake, 379 
Mountjoy, lord, 350, 353 
Mowbray, John, duke of Nor- 
folk, see Norfolk. 
Mucklestone, church, 277 
Mundford, Osbert, 293-4, 29G 
Murad, see Amurath. 
Mylton, 385 

Nancy, 138-9, 167, 170 

Nantes, 139 

Naples, 34-5 

Navenby, 385 

Navy, 133-5, 213-14, 247, 270 

Neath Castle, 241 n. 

Nene, river, 299, 301 

Neville, John Neville, lord, 313, 
331 

Neville, Alice, countess of Salis- 
bury, see Salisbury; Anne, 
daughter of Warwick, see 
Anne, princess of Wales; 
Cecily, 41; Edw., lord Aber- 
gavenny, see Abergavenny ; 
Geo., duke of Bedford, see 
Bedford; Geo., bp. of Exeter, 
archbp. of York, see Exeter; 
Geo., lord Latimer, see Lati- 
mer; Hen., 352; Isabel, see 
Clarence, Isabel, duchess of; 
Joan, see Westmoreland, coun- 
tess of ; John, 242 ; John, lord 
Montagu, see Montagu ; Maud, 
231 ; Ralph, earl of Westmore- 
land,see Westmoreland ; Rich., 
earl of Salisbvu-y.see Salisbury ; 
Rich., earl of Warwick, see 
Warwick; Rob., bp. of Dur- 
ham, see Durham; Sir Thos. 
(son of Salisbury), 226, 231, 
243, 277, 284, 309, 316; 
Thos. (Bastard of Faucon- 
berg), 352, 356, 367-8; WiU., 
lord Fauconberg, see Faucon- 
berg; family, 242-4 

Nevyle, Rog., 291 

Newark, 384 

Newbury, 290, 293, 383, 386 

Newcastle, 333, 340, 344 

Newerk, 382 



Newmarket, 382, 385 

Newnham Bridge, 305 

Newport (Salop), coll., 129 

Newstead Abbey, 376 

Nicholas V, pope, 184 

Nicholas of the Tower, ship, 134, 
152-3 

Nobility, 210, 212-13, 217-18 

Nogent-le-Roi, 79 

No Man's Land (St. Albans), 322 

Norfolk, 214, 228, 359 

Norfolk, John Mowbray, duke 
of (d. 1432) (earl Marshal, 
earl of Nottingham), 11-12, 
66, 73, 243; John Mowbray, 
duke of (d. 1461), 150 n., 160, 
194, 223, 225, 235, 251, 257, 
291, 317 n., 321, 328-9, 331- 
2; John Mowbray, duke of 
(d. 1476), 340, 343 

Norham Castle, 341, 344, 389 

Normandy, 24-6, 105-7, 149, 
155-6, 160, 164, 167, 172-8, 236 

Norris, John, 150 n., 200 

Northallerton, 384 

Northampton, 44, 228, 274, 276, 
299, 354, 376, 387-8; battle 
of (1460), 299-302 

Northumberland, 263 

Northumberland, John Neville, 
lord Montagu, earl of, see 
Montagu; Hen. Percy, earl 
of (d. 1455), 11-12, 132, 231, 
243, 245, 251, 256-7; Hen. 
Percy, earl of (d. 1461), 148, 
259, 268, 313-14, 332-3 

Norton, Chipping, 326, 377 

Norway, 33 

Norwich, 132, 207, 384-5 

Norwich, bp. of, 11 

Nottingham, 353, 356, 361, 376 

Nottingham, John Mowbray, 
earl of, duke of Norfolk, see 
Norfolk. 

Novelemport, Jean de, see Metz, 
Jean de. 

Noyelle, 74 

Nuneaton, 377 

Niirnberg, Diet of (1422), 31 

Odiham, 377; castle, 378 



INDEX 



413 



Ogle, Sir Rob., 340 

Oldhall, Sir Will., 225, 283 

Olney, 354 

Original Letters illustrative of 
English History, 396 

Orleans, siege of, 79-83, 86-9 

Orleans, duke of, 107, 123, 137, 
152, 162-3, 166 

Ormond, Jas. Butler, earl of 
(earl of Wiltshire), 45, 221, 
237, 251, 256, 273, 284, 286, 
290, 293, 295, 312, 314, 334 

Oseney, 383 

Ospringe, 380, 382-6 

Oxford, All Souls coll., 129; 
library founded by Gloucester, 
146; Lincoln coll., 129; 
Magdalen coll., 129; mayor 
warned against assemblies 
(1450), 191; Sharp's move- 
ment at, 60-2; university 
decayed, 129; visits of 
Henry VI, 378, 388 

Oxford, John de Vere, earl of 
(d. 1462), 160, 238, 338; John 
de Vere, earl of (d. 1513), 
356, 358-9, 361, 364-5 

Oxfordshire, 58-62 

Padua, 34 

Papacy, 31-2 

Paris, 3, 25-8, 56, 90-2, 101-3, 
156-7, 159-60 

Paris, bp. of, 157, 185 

Parliament, 1422, regency, 
king's debts and naval ques- 
tions, 9-11, 133-5; 1423, 
Sir John Mortimer attainted 
and March sent to Ireland, 
37, 39-40; 1425, Henry VI 
brought to open, 41; 1426 
(" of Bats "), quarrels of 
Beaufort and Gloucester dealt 
with, 44; 1427, women's 
petition to, 49-50 ; 1429, pro- 
tectorship ended, 55; 1433, 
French war discussed, 66—7, 
104, 108; 1435, money voted 
for war, 155; 1445, petition 
against peace, 167-8; 1447, 
Gloucester's death, 143; 1450, 



removal to Leicester, re- 
siunption of crown lands, 154, 
190, 194; 1450-1, reforms 
and appointment of an heir 
to Henry VI, demanded, 223, 
226-7; 1453, Somerset re- 
instated, 230; 1455, amnesty 
to Yorkists, Gloucester's 
memory cleared, 259-60 ; 
1459, Yorkists attainted, 282- 
3; 1460, York's claims con- 
sidered, 307-11; 1461, Lan- 
castrians attainted, 337 ; 1470, 
records obliterated, 358-9 ; 
franchise, 192 n. ; free elec- 
tion prevented, 192 ; position 
and character, 14-15, 133, 215 

Parmynter, Will., 207 

Parr, Sir Thos., 283 

Paston, John, 223 

Paston Letters, 396 

Patay, 89 

Paul, carrack, 135 

Peasants' Revolt (1380), 18 

Pecock, Reginald, bp. of Chi- 
chester, see Chichester. 

Peel Castle, 125 

Peeresses, privileges of, 125 

Pembroke, Jasper Tudor, earl 
of, 68, 226, 251, 304, 312, 
314, 319, 337, 340-1, 351, 
356, 359, 365 

Peniscola, 32 

Percies, 231 

Percy, Hen., earl of Northum- 
berland, see Northumberland ; 
Sir Ralph, 340-1, 344 

Perkyns, Will., see Sharp, Jack. 

Perth, 188 

Peter, carrack, 135 

Peterboro', 320 

Pevensey, 201, 202 n. 

Philip, duke of Burgundy, see 
Burgundy. 

PhiUp III, king of France, 21 

PhiHp IV, king of France, 21 

Philip V, king of France, 21 

Phihp VI (of Valois), king of 
France, 21 

Philip, French prince, 155 

Philip, ship, 135 



414 



INDEX 



Philippa (of Lancaster), queen 

of Portugal, 34, 43 n. 
Philippa of Clarence, countess of 

March, see March. 
Picardy, 24, 74 
Pickenham, 382 . 
Pirates, 193, 213-14, 266 
Pius X, pope, 186 
Plaisant Marreys, 378 
Ploughland, 59 n. 
Pluralities, 211 
Poins, lord, 134 
Poitiers, 27, 87, 95-6 
Poland, 35, 106 

Political Poems and Songs, 396 
Ponontz, 382 
Pont de I'Arche, 173, 175 
Pontefract, 314-16, 330, 357, 
360, 384-5 

Pontoise, 156, 158, 164 

Poor reUef , 58-60, 209 

Poperinghe, 158 

Porchester, 140 

Portsmouth, 365 

Portugal, 34, 106 

Potterne, 383 

Poulengey, Bertrand de, 86 

Powys, lord, 283-4 

Poynings, lady, 197 ; lord, 237 

Poynings, Edw., 320; Rob., 
197 

Praemunire, 66 

Prague, Four Articles of, 32 

Praguerie, 163 

Prices, competitive, 216-7; 
legislation concerning, 17, 210 

Priories, alien, see Alien priories. 

Privy Council, 9-10 

Provence, 35, 367 

Prussian merchants, 214 

Puckeridge, 384 

Queenborough, 195, 206 

Raby, 242 

Radcliff, Sir John, 106 

Radford, Nich., 261 

Ravenspur, 360 

Reading, 230, 377-8, 383, 386-8 

Recouvrement, 396 

Redbank, 306 n. 



Redchff, 306 n. 
Redesdale, Robin of, 352 
Regency Council, 1422, 11, 15 
Registrum Abbatice Johannis 

Whethamstede, 395 
Ren6 (of Anjovi and Provence), 
king of Naples, 35, 136, 138, 
166-7, 176, 342 
Reole, chateau de la, 160 
Retford, 384 
Revenue, 122, 192 
Rheims, 85, 87, 89 
Rheims, archbp. of, 90, 106, 161, 

185 
Richard II, 13 

Richard III (duke of Glouces- 
ter), 307, 318, 360, 368-70 
Richemont, Arth. of Brittany, 
comte de, 70, 77-8, 106, 155-7, 
161,173,177; Marg., countess 
of, 70 
Richmond, Edm. Tudor, earl 
of, 68, 166 n., 226; Marg. 
Tudor (Beaufort), countess of, 
224 
Richworth, 385 
Rickmansworth, 381 
Rivers, Sir Rich. Woodville, lord, 

104 n., 287-9, 332, 349-50 
Roads, 19-20 
Robert III, king of Scotland 

28-9 
Robertsbridge, 202 n. 
Roche-Guyon, 174 
Rochester, 196-7, 205-6, 226, 

296, 377-8, 380, 382-6 
Rochester, bp. of, 298 
Rodecogge, ship, 135 
Romford, 383 
Romsey, 386 
Roos, lord, 245, 251, 284, 313, 

336, 344 
Roos, Sir Rob., 135 
Rose, balinger, 135 
Roses, Wars of the, 251-370 
Ross, John, earl of, 336 
Rouen, 3, 56, 93, 95-9, 101, 103, 
108, 139, 150 ?i., 157, 174-6, 
185, 376 
Rouvray, 82 
Roxburgh, 305 



INDEX 



415 



Royston, 251, 320, 382, 384-5 

Rue, 74 

Russell, Harry, 134 

Rutland, Edm., earl of, 245- 
6, 280, 283, 314, 316; Rich., 
earl of, duke of York, see 
York. 

Rye, 258 

St. Albans, 44, 47, 375-6, 379, 
385, 387-9; abbey, 7-8, 50, 
146, 273-4, 324; first battle 
of (1455), 253-7; second 
battle of (1461), 321-4 

St. Andrews, 389 

St. Anthony's school (London), 
129 

St. Antoine, Bastille de (Or- 
leans), 80 

St. Augustin, Tour de (Orleans), 
88 

St. Clement, Fords of, 177 

St. Denis, 91, 156-7, 376 

Ste. Catherine, Porte de (Or- 
leans), 80 

St. Germain-en-Laye, 156 

St. James de Beuvron, 168 

St. James's hosp. (Westminster), 
see Westminster. 

St. John's Priory (Clerkenwell), 
151 n., 238, 248, 298, 377, 
386 

St. Loup, Bastille de (Orleans), 
87-8 

St. Megrin, 173 

St. Michaels, 321 

Salisbury, 62, 207, 377, 386 

Salisbury, Gilb. Kemer (Kymer), 
dean of, 257 

Salisbury, Rich. Neville, earl of, 
arrest of Gloucester by, 144; 
Blore Heath and Ludlow 
campaign (1459), 275-80; 
chancellor, 240 ; chancellor of 
the duchy of Lancaster, 258 ; 
death, 316; earldom ac- 
quired, 8 1 ; flight to Calais 
(1459), 280-1; Gloucester 
supported, 119; at Grand 
Council of 1458, 267-9; 
Henry VI's present to, 260; 



immense retinue (1454), 237; 
lieutenant for northern 
counties (1460), 304; marriage 
and possessions, 242-3, 282, 
289; ordered to restrain the 
Nevilles, 231; return to Eng- 
land (1460), 296; Rivers 
attacked, 288 ; in St. Albans 
campaign (1455), 249-51, 256; 
at Sandal (1460), 315; Tower 
of London besieged, 298, 303 ; 
war with half-brother, 121; 
York's connection with, 41, 
156, 244; Yorkshire estates 
harried (1460), 313 

Salisbury, Thos. Montagu, earl 
of, 49, 75, 77, 81; Alice 
Neville, countess of, 81, 242, 
283, 286, 292-3, 305 

Salisbury, Will. Aiscough, bp. 
of, 141, 146, 201; Rich. 
Beauchamp, bp. of, 298, 328; 
John Chandler, bp. of, 40 

Salt trade, 193 

Saltwood, 388 

Sandal, 262, 360; castle, 249, 
315 

Sandwich, 196, 266, 278, 287-8, 
293-4, 296, 386 

Sark, battle of the, 148 

Savoy, Bona of, 349 

Sawtry, 385 

Saxony, 31 

Saxton, 330-1 

Say, lord (d. 1450), 144, 146, 
200, 203; lord (d. 1471), 298, 
357 

Say, Jolin, 200, 227 

Sayntweonard Castle, 241 n. 

Scales, Thos. de Scales, lord, 
204, 290, 297, 303-4; Sir 
Ant. Woodville, lord, 288-9, 
340, 368 

Scandinavia, 33 

Scarthingwell, 331 

Schleswig, 33 

Schools and colleges, 125-30, 220 

Scotland, 28-30, 148, 186-9, 
259, 263, 305, 335-6, 341-3, 
389 

Scrooby, 384 



416 



INDEX 



Scrope, lord, 298 

Seaford, 201, 202 n. 

Servia, 30 

Sevenoaks, 200, 386 

Sever, Hen., 127 

Shaftesbury, 384 

Sharp, Jack (John), 58-02 

Sheen, 376-82, 385-8 

Sheep farms, 18 

Sherborne, 384 ' 

Sheriff Hutton, 242 

Sheriffs, 193 

Shirborne, 384-5 

Short English Chronicle, 394 

Shrewsbury, 228, 265-6, 388 

Shrewsbury, John Talbot, earl 
of (d. 1453), 45, 81, 88-9, 119, 
150 w., 156, 164-5, 174-6, 
178, 180-2, 183 n. ; John 
Talbot, earl of (d. 1460), 238, 
264, 295, 299-301 

Sicily, 106 

Sigismund, Roman emperor, 30- 
3, 36, 54, 73, 106 

Silk manufacture, 220 

Sill6-le-GuilIaume, 76 

Sittingbourne, 378, 380, 382-6 

Skipton-in-Craven, 344 

Slugge, barge, 134 

Sluys, 342 

Smithfield, 51 

Smyth, John, see Parmynter, 
Will. 

Snodhill Castle, 241 n. 

Social conditions, 15-20, 207-21 

Sodbury, 366 

Sombourn, 377 

Somerset, Edm. Beaufort, duke 
of (earl of Somerset, earl 
of Dorset, d. 1455), army 
gathered (1455), 251; badge, 
150 n. ; banishment demanded 
by Parliament, 226 ; captain 
of Calais, 226, 248-9; claims 
to be Henry VI's heir, 224; 
constable of England, 221-2; 
death at St. Albans, 253, 256- 
7, 259; earl of Dorset, 120; 
Gloucester arrested, 144 ; god- 
father to Edward Prince of 
Wales, 232; Henry VI's devo- 



tion to, 114; impeached and 
imprisoned (1453-4), 235-7, 
244 ; lieutenant-general of 
France (1447), 169; Nor- 
mandy lost, 173-8; release 
and restoration to power 
(1455), 248-9; York's rivalry 
with, 169, 179, 222, 228-30, 
236-7 

Somerset, Hen. Beaufort, duke 
of (earl of Dorset), captaincy 
of Calais contended for with 
Warw'ick, 271, 284-5, 287, 
305 ; Coleshill incident (1459), 
278; Coventry affray (1456), 
204; Edward IV acknow- 
ledged, 341; execution, 344; 
flight after Towton, 333-4; 
French mission and imprison- 
ment (1461), 337-8; at Grand 
Council of 1458, 268-9; Lan- 
castrians again joined (1464), 
343-4; London gates closed 
against (1461), 325; at 
Northampton (1459), 276; 
quarrel with John Neville, 
265; at St. Albans battle 
(1455), 251, 256; surrender 
to Yorkists (1462), 340; War- 
wick in charge of, 258 ; West 
country raised (1460), 313; 
Worksoja skirmish, 314 

Somerset, Edm. Beaufort, duke 
of (d. 1471), 365-7; Eleanor 
Beaufort, duchess of, 139, 
269; John Beaufort, earl of 
(d. 1410), 120, 224; John 
Beaufort, earl (d. 1444), 120, 
160, 164-6, 224-6 

Sonning, 377-8, 383 

Sorelle, Agnes, 170 

Southampton, 3, 134, 140, 201, 
382 

Southewel, manor of, 132 

Southover, 201 

Southwark, 43-4, 202-6, 297, 
376, 387 

Southwell, 148, 384 

Southwick, 381-2, 380; priory, 
381 

Spain, 33, 106, 270-1 



INDEX 



417 



Spyne, meaning of term, 134 

Stacy, , 153 

Stafford, 265 

Stafford, Humph., 200 ; John, see 
Bath and Wells, bp, of; Will., 
200 

Staines, 37, 375-7, 380-1, 385-6 

Stamford, 148, 320, 361, 384-5 

Stanhope, Maud, 231 

Stanley, , 222 

Stanwell, 381 

Staple, Merchants of the, 19, 
219, 293 

Starlawe, Thos., 200 

Stewart of Darnley, Sir John, 
186, 188; Sir Will., 30, 75 

StiUington, Rob. H., bp. of Bath 
and Wells, see, Bath and Wells. 

Stilton, 384 

Stoken Church, 381, 383 

Stourton, lord, 238 

Stratford, 383 

Stratford, Stony, 376 

Stratford-on-Avon, 377 

Stuart of Darnley, see Stewart. 

Sudbury, 191, 383 

Suffolk, Alice de la Pole, duchess 
of, 226 ; John de la Pole, duke 
(earl) of (d. 1450), 75-6, 81-2, 
88-9, 114, 120, 136-40, 142-53, 
166-7, 191, 194, 241; John de 
la Pole, duke of (d. 1491), 321 

Surienne, Frangois de, 173 

Surrey, rising, 1450, see Cade's 
rebellion. 

Sussex, 193, 228; rising, 1450, 
see Cade's rebellion. 

Sutton, 375 

Sutton, Sir John, 352 

Sweden, 33 

Switzerland, 35 

Swynford, Cath., 8 

Tadcaster, 360 

Tailboys, Sir Will., 344 

Talbot, Alice, 346; Sir Edw., 
346 ; John, 346 ; John, earl of 
Shrewsbury, see Shrewsbury. 

Tancarville, 175 

Tannenberg, battle of, 35 

Tarporley, 277 



Tartas, 160 

Taunton, 227, 366 

Taxation, 192, 295 

Tempest, Sir John, 346; Rich., 

346 
Templecombe, 384 
Tetsworth, 381, 383 
Teutonic Order, 35 
Tewkesbury, battle of, 366-7 
Thame, 388 

Th^rouanne, bp. of, 104 
Thetford, 382, 384-5 
Thomas, ship, 134 
Thorn, Peace of, 35 
Thorney, 385 

Thorpe, , 259 

Thrale, 383 

Throgmorton, John, 320 

Thurland, 347 

Tiptoft, Sir John, 11, 13; John, 

earl of Worcester, see Wor- 
cester. 
Tisted, 381 

Titchfield Abbey, 141, 381 
Tittenhanger Park, 385 
Todenham, Sir Thos., 226 
Tonbridge, 386 
Topcliffe, 384 
Tottenham, 376, 380, 382 
Touraine, 76 n. 
Touraine, duke of, see Douglas, 

earl of 
Tourelles, Bastille des (Orleans), 

80, 88 
Tournaments, 216 
Tours, 78, 89 
Towcester, coll., 129 
Towns, Black death's effect on, 

18-19 
Towton, battle of, 330-3 
Trade and industry, 15-20, 

209, 214, 217-20 

Trevilian, , 150 n., 200, 227 

Trinity, barge, 134 
Trinity, ship, 134 
Trinity, Little, ship, 135 
Trollope, Sir Andr., 278, 280, 

305, 323, 332-3 
Trowbridge, 383; castle, 243 
Troyes, 75, 89; Treaty of, 22, 

27-8 



418 



INDEX 



Tudor, Edm., earl of Richmond, 
see Richmond; Jasper, earl 
of Pembroke, see Pembroke; 
Marg. 68; Owen, 68-9, 313, 
319; Owen (the younger), 
68; badge, 251 n. 

Tunstall, Sir Rich., 345-7, 351 

Turks, 30, 32, 34, 36 

Tutbury, 262 

Urswyke, , 362 

Usury, see Money-lending. 
Uxbridge, 377, 380-2, 386 

Vagabonds, 16, 20 
Valentine, barge, 134 
Valognes, 177 
Valois, house of, 21 
Vaucouleurs, 86 
Vendome, comte de, 162 
Venice, 34, 36, 214 
Vergil, Polydore, 397 
Verneuil, 173-4; battle of 

(1424), 75-6, 188 
Verona, 34 
Vesci, lord, 303 
Vignolles, ifetienne de. La Hire, 

78, 85, 87 
Vincennes, 156; castle, 3 
Vincennes, Bois de, 3 
Vire, 177 
Visconti, family, 34 

Waddington Hall, Wadding- 
hall, 346, 389 

Wakefield, 360; battle of, 315-6 

Wales, 131, 351 

Wales, Edw., prince of, see 
Edward. 

Wallingford, 383; castle, 47, 375 

Wallop, 384 

Walsall, 388 

Walsingham, 382, 384-5 

Waltham, 380, 385-6 

Waltham, Bishop's, 386 

Waltham Holy Cross, 38, 376; 
abbey, 50, 376, 384 

Waltham Manor, 142 

Wanford, 384 

Warbelton, Will., 61 

Ware, 253, 258, 382, 384-5 



Wareyn, Rob., 238 

Wark, 305 

Warkworth, 148, 340 

Warkworth, John, 396 

Warnford, 381 

Wars of the English in France, 
Letters and Papers illustrative 
of the, 395 

Warwick, 378, 388; castle, 241, 
377 

Warwick, Anne Beauchamp, 
duchess of, 241 ; Hen. Bean- 
champ, duke of, 49, 241, 243; 
Rich. Beauchamp, earl of, 
5n., 11-12, 47-9, 51-2, 62-5, 
69, 77, 92-4, 97, 101, 150 n., 
159, 162, 212, 241; Anne 
Neville, countess of, 241, 305 

Warwick, Rich. Neville, earl of 
(the Kingmaker), captain of 
Calais, 258, 265-6, 270-2, 
275, 281, 284-5, 287-93, 304- 
5 ; death, 365 ; in deputation 
to Henry VI (1453), 238; 
Edward IV made king, 326-8 ; 
forces (1453), 237; at Grand 
Council of 1458, 268-9 ; Henry 
VI arrested, 347 ; importance 
after Wakefield, 317-8; Lan- 
castrian restoration effected, 
355-8; in Ludlow campaign, 
278, 280-1 ; Northampton 
campaign, 296-302; northern 
fortresses reduced, 340-1, 344 ; 
overthrow, 360-5 ; at Parlia- 
ment of 1455, 1456, 259, 262; 
position in 1453, 240-4; 
quarrel with Edward IV, 348- 
55; retirement to Yorkshire, 
249; in St. Albans cam- 
paigns, 250-1, 255-6, 32-0 
6 ; Scottish embassy, 339 ; 
at Towton, 329-33 ; Waurin's 
information derived from, 
395; York's claims opposed 
(1460), 308-11; York's early 
connection with, 41 

Waterford, 292 

Waterways, 20 

Watford, 253, 382, 387 

Watlington, 381 



INDEX 



419 



Waurin, Jehan de, 395 

Waynflete, Will., bp. of Win- 
chester, see Winchester. 

Welles, Sir Rob., 355 

Welling, 383, 387 

Wells, 366, 384 

Wenlock, Sir John, 283, 288, 
294, 298, 325, 339, 366 

Wentworth, Sir Phil., 256 

Wenzel, king of Bohemia, 30 

Westerdale, Sir John, 360 

Westham, 202 n. 

Westminster, coronation of 
Hen. VI, 51-5; EHz. Wood- 
ville in sanctuary at, 357 ; 
funeral of Henry V, 4; 
hosp. of St. James by, 126, 
378 ; Marg. of Anjou crowned, 
142; visits of Hen. VI, 41, 57, 
375-89 

Westmoreland, 345, 389 

Westmoreland, Joan Neville 
(Beaufort), countess of, 41, 
121, 242; Ralph Neville, first 
earl of, 11-12, 41, 121, 242; 
Ralph Neville, second earl of, 
121, 231, 242 

Wey bridge, 375 

We3rmouth, 365 

Whitchurch Castle, 241 n. 

Whittingham, , 337 

Wight, Isle of, 179 

Wigmoreland, 58 

Wilcot, 378 

Willoughby of Eresby, Rob., 
lord, 150, 157 

Wiltshire, 228; rising in 1450, 
see Cade's rebellion. 

Wiltshire, Jas. Butler, earl of, 
earl of Ormond, sec Ormond. 

"Wiluale, 385 

Winchcomb, 377 

Winchelsea, 191 

Winchester, 385-6 

Winchester, Hen. Beaufort, bp. 
of, see Beaufort, Hen., card. ; 
Will. Waynflete, bp. of, 127, 
205, 207, 232, 238-9, 248, 
264, 284, 289, 357 

Windsor, 237, 375-8, 380-7; 
castle, 1, 37, 47 376, 378-9, 



381-2; Lodge at, 378-9; 

Manor in Park, 377, 379- 

81 ; St. George's chapel, 370 
Wine trade, 193 
Wisbech, 326 
Witchcraft, 95 n., 125 
Wolverhampton, 388 
Women, industries of, 219-20 
Woodstock, 377-9, 381, 383, 

388 
Vv^oodville, Sir Ant., lord Scales, 

see Scales; Eliz., queen of 

Edw. IV, see Elizabeth ; Rich., 

229; Sir Rich., lord Rivers, 

see Rivers. 
Woolpit, 384-5 
Wool trade, 9, 18-19, 122, 148, 

219 
Worcester, 278 
Worcester, bp. of, 11 
Worcester, John Tiptoffc, earl 

of, 340, 359 
Worcester, Will, of, 394 
Worksop, 314 
Wrotham Park, 365 
Wycliffe, John, 211 
Wycombe, 379, 381, 383 
Wycombe, High, 378 
Wymondham, 385 

Yarmouth, Gt., 39 

Yeomanry, 218 

Yonge, Thos., 227 

York, 132, 148, 313-4, 330, 333" 
344, 360, 384-5, 389 

York, John Kemp, archb of. 
see Kemp, John, card. ; Geo. 
Neville, archb. of, bp. of 
Exeter, see Exeter. 

York, Rich. Plantagenet, duke 
of, appearance, 221 ; at- 
tainted, 283; award of 1458 
accepted, 269; badge, 151 n., 
251 n. ; Cade's rising in rela- 
tion to, 1:94, 196, 283 ; claims 
to the throne, M5, 224, 227- 
30, 233-4, 305-11; constable 
of England, 258; defeat and 
death, 315-7; French affairs 
under, 155-6, 158-9, 162, 
164-5, 169; Gloucester sup- 



420 



INDEX 



ported, 119; inheritance, 40; 
knighted, 46; heutenant of 
Ireland, 146, l69, 267, 286, 
292; at Ludlow, 277-9; 
Marg. of Anjou's first meeting 
with, 139; northward march 
(1460), 314; protector of the 
realm, 240, 244-8, 262, 264; 
return from Ireland, 221-3, 
226; rivalry with Somerset, 
479, 235; at St. Albans 



battle, 253-7 ; upbringing, 
40-1 ; wars of the Roses 
begun, 249-51 ; Yorkshire 
estates harried, 313 

York, Cecily, duchess of, 169, 
243, 280, 282, 284, 307 ; Edm. 
(of Langley), duke of, 40 n. 

Yorkshire, 345, 352-4, 356 

Ziska, John, Hussite general, 
31, 33, 35 



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